Gulf Shores Airport TSA Finds Stolen Civil War Cannonballs

On July 18, 2026, Transportation Security Administration officers at Gulf Shores International Airport in Alabama uncovered five inert Civil War‑era cannonballs wrapped in paper towels inside a passenger’s checked suitcase. Lead TSA officer Justin Dupree said the discovery was unlike anything he had seen, comparing it to an Indiana Jones‑style artifact find. The cannonballs were traced to nearby Fort Morgan, where a grandson had stolen them and placed them in his grandmother’s luggage without her knowledge. Because the munitions contained no explosives, they were deemed safe but prohibited from air transport. The Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene, and the items were seized. The TSA later highlighted the incident on its social‑media channels, posting humorous warnings about “loose cannons” while linking to its formal news release.