Alabama: (RightNow) Stolen cannonballs from the American Civil War era were found in a grandmother’s bag at Gulf Shores International Airport. The cannonballs were detected during routine security checks.

Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers identified suspicious items during an X-ray screening on July 18. Upon inspection, five small cannonballs wrapped in paper towels were discovered and immediately reported to a supervisor.

Justin Dupree, a TSA officer, stated that while inactive grenades have been seen before, this is the first case involving historical and stolen artifacts. The recovered cannonballs were inactive but prohibited from being carried on a plane.

Police investigations revealed that the cannonballs were stolen from Fort Morgan. They were identified by specific markings, indicating their origin from the American Civil War era.

It is important to note that according to the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office, a young boy stole the cannonballs and placed them in his grandmother’s bag. The grandmother claimed she was unaware that the cannonballs were stolen.