Navy Artillery Shell Casings Found in Sea

Boaters reported finding about three dozen boxes of naval artillery shell casings floating offshore between Long Beach and Dana Point over the Fourth of July holiday, and another dozen of the crates washed up in Huntington Beach, authorities said Monday.

Lifeguards, notified by boaters that the boxes were drifting ashore, briefly closed sections of oceanfront in Huntington Beach on Sunday until the Orange County bomb squad and Navy officials determined the shells presented no danger.

The remaining boxes were found at sea by boaters. Coast Guard vessels were dispatched to pick up the casings, said Coast Guard Petty Officer James Bride. An investigation was under way to determine whether they might have fallen off a Navy warship.