There is a lot of 'tention for the Tybee . .
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| Air Force photo of a bomb like that lost off Tybee. |
The bomb lost off Tybee Island decades back is relatively small, but potentially lethal. The hunt for the cold-war-era nuke continued today in the middle of Wassaw Sound. They didn't find the bomb. In fact, they weren't actually looking for it.
Bomb experts were taking radiation samples. They want to see if new information about the bomb's possible location match up with government tests.
Federal officials have searched before, and the bomb has never been found. But the US Air Force warns danger still exists.
"If someone looks for it, they could set it off and cause an explosion," said Lt. Col. Frank Smolinsky. "But it would not be an impact felt in the island or coast near Savannah."
"It would not be a simple snatch and grab," said Dr. Billy Mullins, an Air Force bomb expert.
According to Dr. Mullins, new information about high radiation levels in Wassaw Sound, just four miles from Tybee, have led scientists back to the Tybee bomb enigma to test the waters one more time.
"When we go back and publish our reports, we want to make sure we covered the area and can explain it," he said.
Bomb experts are going out in the water, testing an area the size of a football field. They are taking soil and water samples.
And the man who is responsible for getting the Air Force back out here, Derek Duke, says he's not even sure if the bomb is down below the water. "Even though I've done my reading and calculations, there is no sure bet," he told us.
Duke has interviewed the pilots involved in the 1958 bomber collision which sent the Mark 15 into the water. Using their exact coordinates and his tools, Duke's newest findings have forced the government to take notice.
"If the bomb is the cause of the radiation, we will deal with it, that is our goal," said Lt. Col. Frank Smolinsky.
It may take at least least weeks before we know what their test results are and whether the mystery of the Tybee bomb will end up being solved after all these years.