MINOT, N.D. — The U.S. Air Force lost a box of grenade rounds in northwest North Dakota that fell off a Humvee earlier this month, and now is seeking the public’s help in locating the explosives.

A 91st Missile Wing Security Forces team from the Minot Air Force Base lost the ammunition container on May 1 while traveling between missile sites in Mountrail County, according to a news release the Air Force issued late Friday

The team was traveling on rough gravel roads about four miles west of Parshall when the back hatch of the vehicle opened, and an ammunition container fell out, the Air Force said.

The ammunition is considered safe as long as the container is intact, said Lt. Col. Jamie Humphries, a spokesman for the Minot Air Force Base. However, damage to the container or its contents could lead to an explosion or injury, he said.

If the ammunition is located and is damaged, the area should be evacuated and people should call 911 or the Minot Munitions Reporting Hotline at 701-723-7909.

The missing ammunition is a belt of grenade rounds, contained in a green metal ammo container, that is meant for use with an MK19 machine gun grenade launcher, the Mountrail County Sheriff’s Office said Friday afternoon. The ammunition will not operate in any other launching device.

The green metal container weighs 42 pounds with dimensions of 18½ inches by 6 inches by 10 inches, Humphries said.

The explosives were lost on 76th Avenue Northwest, somewhere between 33rd Street Northwest and Highway 23, the sheriff’s office said. The missing explosives were reported to the sheriff’s office about 4:15 p.m. on May 4, Sheriff Ken Halvorson said in a news release.

More than 100 airmen walked the entire six-mile route several times on Friday to search for the explosives but were unsuccessful, Halvorson said.

The Air Force Office of Special Investigations is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the recovery of the munitions. The Air Force issued its first public statement on the lost ammunition about 7:30 p.m. Friday, 10 days after the explosives went missing and hours after Halvorson first issued a press release.

Halvorson said in a statement that his news release was prompted by “the lack of information being released by the Air Force on this loss and his concern for the safety of the citizens in the area.”

Since the explosives were lost, Air Force officials have searched the area extensively and contacted local landowners and an oil company with wells in that area to keep an eye out for the missing property, Halvorson said.

On Tuesday, agents from the Air Force Office of Special Investigations met with the sheriff about their investigation and asked for assistance. The sheriff’s office contacted farmers and oil vendors who work in the area asking for information.

Halvorson said the explosives are very dangerous, and anyone with information about where they are should call the sheriff’s department at 701-628-2975.

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Where to throw a 60th-birthday bash in the time of corona? The Badlands? Good idea. The Minot Air Force Base’s 91st Missile Wing oversees 150 Minuteman III missiles and launch facilities in central and western North Dakota.

The Air Force does not consider this a criminal matter at this time and is seeking the public’s help to ensure the safe return of the ammunition, Humphries said.

Anonymous tips can be submitted to the Air Force here.