Navy attempts to identify mystery cylinder found off Florida

July 3 (UPI) -- Police and Navy officials in Florida are attempting to identify a mysterious cylindrical object found by a snorkeler off the coast of Palm Beach, Fla.

The Palm Beach Police Department responded when snorkeler Andre Eimor discovered the large, green object off the coast near the 600 block of North County Road.

The department's Underwater Search and Recovery Team assessed the object and reached out to the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office and the U.S. Navy for assistance.

Eimor said the object resembled a missile, and police initially said it may have been a non-explosive U.S. military training missile, but police Capt. Will Rothrock there has not been a positive identification.

Rothrock said the Navy disposed of the object safely, but is still working to identify it.

David Marger, another snorkeler who encountered the object, suggested it could be a discarded torpedo from World War II.

"Probably an old WWII torpedo considering the Navy used to have a lot of ships out here during the war," Marger told WSVN-TV.

A Google Lens search using a photo of the object noted its resemblance to a 105 mm "rakefet" HE shell used by the Israeli Army in the 1970s.