A native Brevardian, Ray lived on the mainland most of his life, and for the past four years of beach-side living, has taken strolls on the sand almost nightly.

  • Brevard man finds WWII era sea mine on beach
  • Authorities say beach-goers should never touch old military items

"I said once I got over that bridge I would walk the beach every night," said Bryon Ray. "I get out here 5-6 nights a week."

With those frequent walks, odds were he'd find things on the beach. He's seen makeshift rafts, pieces of airplanes, even house parts swept in from the recent hurricanes.

But Sunday night's walk offered the strangest find of them all. Ray walked up on two men who had discovered something from the World War II era.

"An odd find, a little bit bigger than a beach ball," he described. "Washed up, definitely washed up. All the storms we've had."

The men found a naval sea mine that once floated in the ocean with the goal of destroying enemy ships. Ray and the others stayed back, took some pics, and called the authorities.

"Very rusty, you could tell where the anchor was hooked to it before," he says. "Holes where the primers were. Very obvious it was a mine."

But this isn't the only one found lately. Up off Cape Hatteras, in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, two such mines were found close to one another on the beach back in September.

A military disposal unit hauled them away.

For Ray, he went home and shared the unusual find with his wife and daughter. And he knows as much time as he spends here, who knows what will turn up next.

"Be careful out here," he said.

Authorities remind beach-goers to never touch old military items like this. Call right away so the pros can take care of them.