INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — Rough seas from Hurricane Erin are believed to have uncovered parts of a WWII, or earlier, era sea mine buried along shoreline south of Vero Beach, a law enforcement official said.
A military explosives removal team removed the parts the afternoon of Aug. 20, said Lt. Kevin Jaworski, with Indian River County Sheriff’s Office.
What appeared to be metallic cylinders or vials partially buried in sand, uncovered by surf of the passing Category 2 storm hundreds of miles offshore, were found by a beach walker around 8:45 a.m., Jaworski said.
The pieces appeared to be parts of an early 20th century sea mine, he said.
Protruding from the spherical explosive, the Hertz Horn mechanism was developed in Germany in the late 19th century and still serves as one of several trigger methods for contact mines.
The devices were found on an area of beach in the 1900 block Anglers Cove, roughly midway between South Beach and Round Island Beach parks.
“There is no immediate threat to the public at this time,” Jaworski said. Authorities remained at the site until the devices were safely removed.
No residences were evacuated, however access was restricted to the area of shoreline near the find, he said.
Members of Patrick Space Force Base Explosive Ordnance Disposal unit traveled from Brevard County to “conduct a thorough assessment and secure the device(s),” Jaworski said.
There have been several instances where a WWII-era ordnance has been found on Treasure Coast shorelines. Several of those have been land mines.
Round Island Beach Park sits on what was the Fort Pierce Naval Amphibious Training Base, a 19,000-acre area of shoreline stretching from Vero Beach to near Jensen Beach which from 1943 to 1946 served as a WWII training area.
During World War II, underwater demolition teams trained offshore and the Navy and Army experimented with beach fortifications expected to be encountered in Europe and Japan. The post was abandoned in 1946, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers now manages it, as it does all other formerly used defense sites.
Through the years, bombs, rockets and mines have been unearthed by construction, erosion and targeted searches offshore and on the barrier islands.
Corey Arwood is a breaking news reporter for TCPalm. Follow @coreyarwood on X, email corey.arwood@tcpalm.com or call 772-978-2246.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Space Force explosives team removes parts of sea mine uncovered by Hurricane Erin in Vero Beach
Reporting by Corey Arwood, Treasure Coast Newspapers / Treasure Coast Newspapers
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