Orb's history mysterious, future isn'tFriday, June 14, 2002
The Post and Courier Staff
ISLE OF PALMS-The mysterious silver orb that washed ashore this week may soon be recycled like a giant beer can unless someone steps forward to claim it.So far, no one has figured out what it is, let alone whom it belongs to. The smooth, metallic sphere, which is at least 3 feet in diameter and weighs 200 pounds or more, came in with the tide Monday night and landed on the beach near Ocean Boulevard.
Local, state and federal authorities have examined the buoyant globe, but don't have a clue to its origin. As speculation mounted Thursday, Mayor Mike Sottile stepped in to oversee the matter and handle briefings on the odd ball."No one really knows what it is, and I don't think we'll ever know what it is," he said.
Several people called City Hall Thursday to offer ideas. Among other things, they suggested the sphere was part of a Polaris missile or an overflow stopper for a gas tanker, Sottile said.
A caller to The Post and Courier thought the sphere might be part of a pressure release vent on a large ship. At the Coast Guard, some believed it was a target practice decoy used by the Navy.
After finding the orb Monday, a vacationing family rolled it to the dunes beside their rented beach house. Not sure what to do with it, they called police Wednesday. Everyone from firefighters to the Air Force bomb squad came to examine it.
"The way homeland security is now, we wanted to take all the necessary precautions," Sottile said.
City officials later carted it away to the public works department for safekeeping. There it will sit for at least a few days while the city waits for someone to claim it. If no one does, its final destination likely will be a scrap yard.
"As soon as we exhaust all avenues and talk to as many people as we can, we will dispose of it accordingly," Sottile said.