Photo previously taken during Army Corps of Engineers investigations in Fort Pierce, provided by the Army Corps
INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — Army Corps of Engineers workers found a World War II-era barrage rocket early Thursday at a rock garden on an undeveloped patch of land in the county, officials said.
The 7-inch barrage rocket was being used as a garden ornament, Army Corps Public Affairs Specialist Amanda Parker said. It’s unclear if the device was ‘live’ and if the person who put it there knew it was a possible explosive device.
Army Corps engineers found the device about 11 a.m. Thursday at a rock garden in the county, Parker said. The exact location of the garden was not immediately available.
The Patrick Air Force Base responded to the scene to determine if they could dispose of the rocket, Parker said. Army Corps of Engineers personnel were still in the area about 4 p.m., Parker said.
The discovery is part of a munitions program, where Army Corps officials search for any live bombs or ammunition left behind by the military from the Vero Beach area down to Jensen Beach, including North and South Hutchinson Islands, reports show. The areas were known as the Fort Pierce Naval Amphibious Training Base, which the Navy used during World War II.
The most recent finding was in January 2017 in North Hutchinson Island, where a large demolition rocket, known as “Tiny Tim,” was found during construction on previously undeveloped land.
Munitions, or items used in war, were also found on the island in 1998 during a barrier beach removal project.
There could be buried munitions in the area that could be dangerous and might not be easily recognizable, officials said. Residents should never touch any item they think might be a munition.
Instead, residents should leave the area and call 911 immediately.