Woman Uncovers Munition On Beach

San Francisco, California A woman combing the beach with a metal detector in the Fort Funston area was shocked to uncover a munition item after she dug on a target. The woman called the police who responded with a bomb squad to provide technical assistance. The bomb squad removed the munition, reported as a mortar, from the area.

Fort Funston was a former harbor defense installation located in the southwestern corner of San Francisco. Formerly known as Lake Merced Military Reservation, the area is now part of the Golden Gate National Recreational Area (GGNRA). Fort Funston is listed in the FUDS inventory as a MMRP site. It is unknown if the munition found was within the boundary of the known FUDS property.

It is not the only munition find in the area, in September, a military flare was recovered from the area which was believed to be from off-shore military training activities in the area. Other munitions have been recovered within the GGNRA over the years as well.

The GGNRA is managed by the National Park Service (NPS) and is one of the most visited parks in the nation. The exact area the munition was found was not reported but if it was within the boundaries of the area controlled by the NPS, then the woman was technically not allowed to use a metal detector. According to 36 Chapter 1 Part 2.1 of the Code of Federal Regulations, "Possessing or using a mineral or metal detector, magnetometer, side scan sonar, other metal detecting device, or subbottom profiler" is prohibited.