Stacy Cook, on the beach with her stepdaughter and grandchildren, decided to bring the rusty object back to her Pensacola condo because it looked interesting. Then she sent her boyfriend a picture of the object through her cell phone, The Pensacola News Journal reported.
"He called me back a few minutes later and said, 'That looks like a bomb,'" Cook said. "'You need to call the Navy now.'"
The State Fire Marshal's Office identified the bomb and removed it from the condo. A Navy team was expected to detonate it.
Michael White, a technician with the Fire Marshal's Office, said the bomb was potentially dangerous because phosphorus could have leaked out or started a fire.
Cook plans to be more careful when she is on the beach.
"I'm not picking up a Diet Coke can," she said.