Explosive Ordnance Disposal team destroys mortar round found in Colwood

Submitted
Jim Sarginson was hiking near Fort Rodd Hill when he came across a mortar round.

The Canadian Armed Forced deployed the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) and destroyed a mortar found near Fort Rodd Hill in Colwood.

Officials from multiple agencies were on scene near Fort Rodd Hill in Colwood Sunday morning after a hiker reported he had found a mortar round.

West Shore RCMP, the military police, and the Department of National Defence were on scene investigating the finding.

Lieutenant Pamela Hogan with the Canadian Armed Forces says around 10:30 a.m. Sunday morning the military police contacted the Regional Joint Operations Centre of a two-inch U.S. mortar found at Fort Rodd Hill. The Explosive Ordnance Disposal team arrived around noon with the RCMP.

Hogan says it was a U.S. Mortar Round around two inches in size.

“At approximately 12:50 p.m. the EOD team is conducting a controlled explosion of the mortar to ensure its proper disposal,” Hogan said in an email just before 1 p.m. “I do not have a specific timing for the reopening of the road, but it won’t be much longer after disposal is complete.”

Jim Sarginson was hiking near Fort Rodd Hill when he found the mortar round.

“It’s a first for me. I hope I don’t find one again, but I won’t be hiking around in this area,” Sarginson said in an interview with CHEK News. “I was actually scouting the area for a future metal detecting trip and just came across it sticking around in the dirt and grabbed a hold of it.”

Jim Sarginson says he didn’t first recognize what he had pulled out of the ground. (Submitted)

When he first found it, he says he didn’t believe the discovery at first.

“I was kinda in denial, I see the end of it, I didn’t recognize what it was until I pulled it out of the ground. I was shocked,” Sarginson said.

Ocean Boulevard between Fort Rodd Hill Road and the Colwood Pacific Activity Centre was closed for a short period as the EOD team conducted a controlled explosion. The road later reopened to the public.

Officials from multiple agencies were investigating after a hiker reported he had found a mortar round. (CHEK News)

It’s unclear if the round was live at the time of discovery.

The Victoria man says it’s a find he’ll never forget.

“It’s a first for me and I hope I don’t find one again, but I won’t be hiking around in this area. Scouting didn’t go as planned for a metal detecting adventure,” said Sarginson.

Oli HerreraOli Herrera

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