What some thought could be military ordnance found on Two Mile Hollow Beach turned out to be military in nature, but not an imminent danger, police said this week.
East Hampton Village police would not say who found the smoking canister on Sunday morning on the beach, only that the person had called 911.
Emblazoned on the side of the gray object was the marking, “contact police or military if found.” Police noted some smoke coming from one end and contacted the Coast Guard in New Haven. A petty officer there said the canister was a flare that had been discarded — possibly after a training exercise — by military personnel in the area.
East Hampton firefighters were on the scene and determined that the smoke coming from the object was a mix of phosphorus and water, a combination that causes white smoke to appear. Department chiefs disposed of the canister.