Lakeshore resident digs up old military ordinance on shores of Lake St. Clair

Military ordinance found on shores of Lake St. Clair in Lakeshore, June 20, 2022. (Source: OPP)

At first glance, Brent Dishman didn’t know what he had unearthed.

“I thought it was just a huge piece of metal,” he said.

That huge piece of metal required the help of Canadian Forces to be removed from a waterfront home in Lakeshore.

Dishman was filling up sandbags last Friday when he hit the piece.

“So I start digging that out and as I kept digging it, it was bigger and bigger so then I ended up taking the shovel and heaving it out,” he said.

He took the metal piece and put it on his break wall and continued to fill bags with sand. On Monday he noticed the forgotten piece.

“I see it and I'm like 'shoot, I have to call the police' so I called the police. They ended up coming out,” he said.

The OPP sent an image of the object to military personnel at the Canadian Forces Base in Borden who determined it was a military ordinance.

They didn't ask for the area to be contained but did feel it was necessary for professionals to dispose of the object.

“I don't know anything about them,” said Dishman. “They were just explaining, put it in a big case and said they were going to blow it up at the range tomorrow which would have been today.”

A neighbour that lives three doors down was not shocked to hear about the discovery but surprised he didn’t find it first.

“Year after year with a tractor with a rototiller and I dug down about that deep,” said George explaining he digs about two to three feet deep when going over the beach area.

He has lived in the neighbourhood for almost 30 years and combs the beach. He is happy he wasn’t the one to make the find.

“Because spark from the rototiller would have been *snaps his fingers*,” George said.

George has come across some amazing discoveries and once found an arrowhead.

“I found all kinds of different stuff that's been unearthed that's been covered for years and years and just do it so nobody else steps on it and gets hurt not knowing what lays beneath the sand so there's a lot of discoveries out here,” he said.

OPP warns if you find something and you’re not sure what it is, do not touch it. Note and leave the location and call local authorities.