Stolen cannonballs discovered inside passenger's bag during airport security check

A Transportation Security Administration officer said he got a huge surprise as he was inspecting luggage at Alabama's Gulf Shores International Airport earlier this month when he discovered stolen military artifacts.

TSA Officer Justin Dupree said he thought he found a medicine ball and other similar objects inside the bag on July 18, but it turned out to be five cannonballs stolen from Fort Morgan, an historic military base in Gasque, Alabama, TSA said.

The passenger told law enforcement she had no idea how the cannonballs ended up in her bag, TSA said.

The Baldwin County Sheriff's Office said it later determined the passenger's 17-year-old grandchild stole the cannonballs from a storage area at the fort.

Dupree said in a statement that he thought the objects, which were wrapped in paper towels, could have been explosives after he saw them in the X-ray machine.

"My first thought was, 'I couldn't see a fuse and need to get some help quick,'" he said in a statement.

The cannonballs were of different sizes but the larger ones were the size of a grapefruit, according to TSA.

Dupree contacted his supervisor, Richard Cash, who in turn contacted the region's TSA explosives specialist and assistant federal security director-law enforcement, according to the agency. They instructed Cash to call the Baldwin County Sheriff's Office to inspect the devices.

The local law enforcement specialists found the cannonballs were inert, and tracked them back to Fort Morgan and transported the artifacts back to the fort, according to TSA.

The fort's director did not press charges, according to the sheriff's office.

Dupree said in a statement that he was still shocked about his discovery.

"I've seen inert grenades and training munitions but never an Indiana Jones-esque stolen artifact-type situation," he said.