CRESCENT BEACH, Fla. – The St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office was called to Crescent Beach Wednesday to detonate a mysterious balloon package that landed on the shore.
The yellow balloon tied to a white styrofoam box was found just north of the Cubbedge Road beach access.
A witness on vacation from Kentucky said the weather balloon was first spotted over the ocean, far from the shoreline.
“It didn’t take long before it came ashore. It was attached to something that looked like a styrofoam cooler,” said the witness who described the attachment as something that didn’t appear to be heavy.
The witness also told News4JAX that the balloon and its attachment caught the attention of a group of surfers who followed the balloon and the attachment to a dune.
The surfers were going to open it but a man came running down the beach, warning them to get away from the balloon.
The SJCO’s Explosive Ordinance Disposal team responded and detonated the package.
“They said we all needed to get 300 feet away so the bomb squad could blow it up,” said the witness who told News4JAX that was the moment he feared for his safety.
The witness said he first thought the box was a transmitter attached to the weather balloon, but when he spoke with a deputy, the deputy said he was told the box appeared to be something different.
“He said there were wires in it, but it was not transmitting anything. It had a little yellow flag on it. There was a black strap around what looked like a styrofoam cooler,” the witness said.
Based on the picture of the box, it did not appear to have any label identifying it as a meteorology instrument or device used to study the weather.
The investigation into whether the balloon is a weather balloon, its origin, and its payload is still active.
The bomb squad eventually used explosives to destroy the suspicious box.
According to the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office, the investigation into the weather balloon, its origin, and its payload is still active.