TSA officer sees alarming shapes on X-ray before stolen Civil War mystery unravels

A regular baggage screening astatine an Alabama airdrome sparked an explosive scare erstwhile TSA officers discovered stolen humanities artifacts wrong a passenger's bag.

The artifacts were recovered successful the checked container of a rider going done Gulf Shores International Airport (JKA), astir 45 miles southeast of Mobile, Alabama, connected July 18.

The TSA said the artifacts — 5 Civil War-era cannonballs — were discovered by Justin Dupree, a pb TSA serviceman astatine the airport, according to a communicative published connected the TSA tract connected July 24.

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While screening the bag, Dupree "saw what appeared to beryllium a ample opaque point connected his X-ray screen, which helium initially thought mightiness beryllium a medicine ball."

The 5 cannonballs, each of antithetic sizes, were wrapped successful insubstantial towels.

TSA officers astatine an Alabama airdrome discovered 5 Civil War-era cannonballs during a regular baggage screening connected July 18. (TSA JKA)

The larger ones were "about the size of grapefruits," Dupree said.

"My archetypal thought was, ‘I couldn’t spot a fuse and request to get immoderate assistance quick,’" Dupree said, according to the TSA.

RARE CANNONBALL EMERGES FROM GROUND AT THE ALAMO, LIKELY UNTOUCHED FOR NEARLY 190 YEARS

"I couldn’t spot the full point but was frightened I mightiness person been holding a unrecorded explosive."

He rapidly alerted his supervisor, Richard Cash, a supervisory TSA officer. 

Supervisory TSA Officer Richard Cash, pictured astatine right, said the find marked his archetypal brushwood with a perchance unrecorded explosive astatine the airport. (TSA JKA)

Dupree, who's been a TSA serviceman for astir 4 years, said helium had "never seen thing rather this unique."

"I’ve seen inert grenades and grooming munitions but ne'er an Indiana Jones-esque stolen artifact-type situation," Dupree said.

Cash analyzed the X-ray representation and agreed with Dupree that the cannonballs could airs a danger.

Regional TSA explosives specialists were notified, and section constabulary and deputies with the Baldwin County Sheriff's Office responded to the airport.

"It was my archetypal clip dealing with a perchance unrecorded explosive."

Cash told TSA officials that helium "had ne'er seen thing similar this."

"It was my archetypal clip dealing with a perchance unrecorded explosive, and it’s really lone the 2nd incidental we’ve had since JKA opened successful May 2025," helium said.

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The cannonballs were prohibited from flying due to the fact that they were classified arsenic artillery munitions and officers could not instantly find whether they were inert, Cash said.

"With assistance from the [explosives expert] and instrumentality enforcement, and due to the fact that we were incapable to initially find they were inert, they could person been unsafe to the aircraft," helium said.

Investigators linked the recovered cannonballs to Fort Morgan, a historical Civil War-era fort connected Alabama's Gulf Coast. (iStock)

Officials aboriginal recovered that the cannonballs had been stolen from Fort Morgan, a historical fort successful Gasque, Alabama.

The Baldwin County Sheriff's Office told Fox News Digital that a juvenile stole them from a retention country wrong the fort.

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The cannonballs "were being transported successful the juvenile’s grandmother’s checked bag," officials said.

"Fort Morgan unit were capable to corroborate the items arsenic their spot owed to overgarment markings they use to artifacts," the bureau added.

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"The grandma stated that she did not cognize they were stolen. Fort Morgan’s manager chose to not property charges, truthful determination was nary further enactment from us."

In a statement, TSA Alabama Federal Security Director Tara Corse said that she was "very arrogant of the large drawback and teamwork by Officers Dupree and Cash."

Authorities determined the Civil War-era cannonballs had been stolen from Fort Morgan earlier returning them to the historical Alabama site. (iStock)

"Even if inert and not active, travelers should debar bringing weapons of immoderate kind, including replicas, to the airport. They tin origin information alerts, formation delays and information concerns," said Corse.

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Fox News Digital reached retired to the TSA for further accusation and comment.