The device, believed to be a water mine, washed ashore in Lauderdale-By-The-Sea, a small beach town just north of Fort Lauderdale, Broward Sheriff’s spokeswoman Carey Codd said in a news release.
Water mines are explosive devices that are left under water to damage ships or submarines.
A delegate from a sheriff discovered the device during patrol around 2:30 a.m., after which deputies secured the area and cordoned off a small section of the beach.
According to the news release, the word ‘inert’ was written on the device.
The sheriff’s sheriff responded and worked with the U.S. Air Force “out of an abundance of caution” to safely remove the device from the beach, Codd said.
The beach was later reopened.
The device is now in the Air Force’s custody for further investigation and investigation, reports the CNN subsidiary WPLG.