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Family believes they may have uncovered Prohibition-era bunker in backyard

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Posted at 10:50 AM, Mar 25, 2021
and last updated 2021-03-25 14:06:55-04

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A home in Grand Rapids, Michigan, might hold a few secrets from a century ago.

Lara Labryer and her kids share a passion for finding hidden treasure with a metal detector or fishing magnet.

When the Labryer family decided to visit Lara's childhood home and the kids' grandmother, they knew they wanted to bring their tools to see if they could discover anything in the home's backyard.

The search turned into a discovery of a possible Prohibition-era cavern.

Labryer found a gin bottle with a warning on the container reading "federal law prohibits the use or sale of this bottle." Other items include a cobbler's tool, canning goods, and bottles.

The family believes that it's possibly a bunker from the Prohibition or an old wine cellar that dates back to the home's farmhouse days.

Labryer's mother and the homeowner still have the original deed, which shows the home may pre-date to sometime in the 1800s.

The family has called local universities to have student archaeologists come out and examine the finding for themselves. They hope they might be able to get more information about the possible bunker.

This story was originally published by Angeline McCall at WXMI.