KEALIA — An unexploded bomb is reportedly floating near Kealia Beach, and officials with the state, county and Pacific Missile Range Facility are on the hunt.
The unidentified object, dubbed an unexploded ordnance, was reported Monday to the Kauai Police Department about 12:30 p.m., and was reported on the shoreline fronting the Kealia Stream bridge over Kuhio Highway.
According to PMRF representatives, the person who reported the item says “he has seen it there for years.”
KPD responded and cordoned off the area, said KPD spokeswoman Kim Tamaoka. Police then contacted explosive specialists from the Transportation Security Administration and PMRF.
At the request of PMRF, a team from the Navy Region Hawaii’s Explosive Ordnance Detachment traveled from Oahu to Kauai Tuesday to evaluate the object.
As of press time on Tuesday, they hadn’t found it.
“PMRF and the EOD team are working closely with DLNR and KPD to locate the item in the shifting sand and surf — and in the right tide conditions — in order to do a thorough assessment,” PMRF spokesman Robert Purdy said.
Barbara Weidner of the Kauai chapter of the Surfrider Foundation said she didn’t get any calls about the unexploded ordnance on Monday, but the group has been responding to a drastic uptick in marine debris on Kauai shores.
Net Patrol and beach cleanup groups have been cleaning debris from Haena to Polihale. Sunday, teams removed 5,000 pounds of nets and debris total, about 3,000 pounds from Kahili Beach, or Rock Quarry, in Kilauea, and a 2,000-pound net from the beach in Kapaa fronting Lava Lava.
