Travelers find 2 mortar shells near Escalante


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ESCALANTE, Garfield County — A bomb squad destroyed a pair of mortar shells travelers found Thursday in a remote area near the town of Escalante, officials said.

The travelers thought the mortar shells were bowling pins from a distance but realized the objects were mortar shells as they approached, according to Garfield County Sheriff spokeswoman Denise Dastrup.

They soon notified the Garfield County Sheriff’s Office, and the National Guard contacted the Bomb Disposal Team to destroy the mortar shells. The team disposed of the mortars with other explosives before determining whether they were live.

“The explosives destroyed the explosives. If they were live, they wouldn’t have known it,” Dastrup said.

The mortar shells were older, but the team could not determine how old they were, she said.

“They didn’t see any others. They don’t really know how they got there or whether somebody disposed of them and didn’t know what to do with them. Maybe somebody had them stashed,” Dastrup said. “They had no idea how they got there, but they were together.”

Travelers who find suspicious items should take pictures, get coordinates and report them to 911 or the sheriff’s office, Dastrup said. They should not attempt to touch or pick up the items.

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