Military ordnance recovered on Assateague Island

BERLIN, Md. – Officials say multiple military ordnance were recovered on Assateague Island Tuesday afternoon.

Shortly after 1 p.m., the Worcester County Fire Marshal’s Office and the U.S. Air Force 436th Civil Engineer Squadron – Emergency Ordnance Disposal team out of Dover Air Force Base responded to Assateague Island National Seashore for three suspected military ordnance that washed ashore in the North Ocean Beach area.

National Park Service Rangers reported the suspicious devices, triggering the response of the Fire Marshal’s Office and EOD teams. It was determined that the ordnance had been in the ocean for an unknown period of time and needed to be rendered safe in place. In addition to Tuesday’s cache, additional ordnance previously recovered by rangers was also rendered safe again on Wednesday in an unoccupied area north of the Maryland State Park.

This is the second incident of military ordnance washing ashore at Assateague in recent weeks.

Officials say that while it is not normally a frequent occasion, if a member of the public sees any suspicious metal devices washing up on local beaches, they should immediately report it to local authorities for further investigation.