Undetonated Coast Guard flare washes up at Montrose Beach; beachgoers warned to stay away

The Chicago Police Department’s bomb squad was called to Montrose Beach on Monday afternoon when a lifeguard spotted a suspicious “torpedo-shaped” object that washed ashore.

The item, 18 inches long with military markings, was found about 5:47 p.m. It was at first thought to possibly be explosive, according to Chicago police and the city’s Office of Emergency Management and Communication.

After the U.S. Coast Guard’s regional office was notified and sent photos, the object was identified as an undetonated military smoke-and-flame flare used to help with visibility when searching for a vessel or person in the water.

Police officers from the bomb unit safely removed it from the beach, which remained open during the investigation.

The Coast Guard dropped four of the Mark 25 flares during a training exercise in Milwaukee this month with the Air Force, according to Joe Neff, public affairs officer for the U.S. Coast Guard sector Lake Michigan.

Usually, when the flare hits the water, it will go off, emitting red smoke and flames. But these four did not.

Unsure about why the flares did not go off, the U.S. Coast Guard deemed it unsafe to retrieve them and left them in the lake, and the one found Monday drifted toward Chicago.

Neff advised beachgoers that if they happen to find a flare — a silver cylinder about 15 to 18 inches long with U.S. Navy markings — it is unsafe to pick up.

“Inside, the phosphorous pyrotechnic burns very hot,” Neff said. “If it were to activate while someone was holding it, or, you know, if they picked it up and put it in a vehicle, it would burn them and potentially harm others.”

If a Mark 25 flare is found, stay clear and contact police so it can be properly removed.