All sorts of banned items are discovered in luggage by U.S. Transportation Security Administration screeners, but cannonballs stolen from a Civil War-era fort are not an everyday find.
Lead TSA Officer Justin Dupree was examining checked bags earlier this month at Alabama’s Gulf Shores International Airport when he spotted the projectiles on his X-ray machine.
“My first thought was, I couldn’t see a fuse and need to get some help quick,” the TSA officer is quoted as saying in a TSA update. “I couldn’t see the entire item but was scared I might have been holding a live explosive.”
There were five small cannonballs wrapped in paper towels, with the largest being the size of a grapefruit and the smallest only about an inch wide, the agency reported.
“I had never seen anything quite this unique,” Dupree said. “I’ve seen inert grenades and training munitions but never an Indiana Jones-esque stolen artifact-type situation.”
Law enforcement determined the cannonballs had been stolen from nearby Fort Morgan. It has guarded Mobile Bay since it was completed in 1834 and played a major role in the Civil War. The fort is now a museum operated by the Alabama Historical Commission.
The Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office and TSA bomb experts confirmed the cannonballs did not contain any explosives, but they still couldn’t fly.
“I am very proud of the great catch,” said Tara Corse, who is in charge of TSA in Alabama. “Even if inert and not active, travelers should avoid bringing weapons of any kind, including replicas, to the airport. They can cause security alerts, flight delays and safety concerns.”
A juvenile from out of state had taken the cannonballs, Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office Captain Nathan Lusk told CNN. The historical items were returned to the fort and the facility’s director declined to go forward with prosecution.
The historical society is conducting an active investigation into what happened, a spokesperson tells CNN.
Aaron Cooper, CNN
