INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — A suspected explosive device found just off the roadway was safely removed by the bomb squad Wednesday morning, deputies said.
The incident led deputies to block off 58th Avenue for less than an hour until the device was taken out of the area, Indian River County sheriff’s spokesman Maj. Eric Flowers said. This is the second case involving a possible explosive device to occur in the county this week.
In the latest incident, a passerby found the old ordnance about 9 a.m. Wednesday in the 5700 block of 58th Avenue. Deputies and the St. Lucie County sheriff’s bomb squad unit responded to the scene.
The bomb unit determined there was no ignition mechanism inside the device, officials said. The unit removed the item and investigators are trying to determine how it ended up near the street.
There were no evacuations, Flowers said.
Flowers could not comment on if the device was an old World War II munition. Army Corps of Engineers have conducted ongoing searches since 2014 for any live bombs or ammunition left behind by the military from the Vero Beach area down to Jensen Beach, officials said.
The areas were known as the Fort Pierce Naval Amphibious Training Base, which the Navy used during World War II. Army Corps of Engineers officials were not involved in the latest incident.
The agency’s Public Affairs Specialist Amanda Parker said the Army Corps will be returning to the area this summer to conduct more searches.
