A strange object, which fits the description of a nosecone from an Ariane 5 solid-rocket booster, washed up on a beach across from the city of Corpus Christi, Texas. Then it disappeared, starting a local mystery.

Could this be another Roswell or are the mysterious men in black involved? Local press hyped the missing supposed rocket part.

"Its been blown out of proportion," said Nueces County Precinct 4 constable, Robert Sherwood. "I do know where it is and its available for anybody who wants to inspect it."

Almost as fast as it was discovered, two men hauled off the object. Park rangers and officials who inspected it were at a loss as to the objects whereabouts.

Coast Guard Petty Officer 3^rd Class Hector Villarreal inspected the object Friday morning and described it as a dome-shaped object about five feet (1.5 meters) in diameter and three feet (1 meter) long that appeared to be made of Fiberglas.

"It had a lot of marine growth on it, so it had been in the water for a while," he said. "Ive never seen anything like it before."

Villarreal said Coast Guard personnel inspected the object to check for possible environmental hazards. He added several people were gathered around it and one man had even climbed inside of the cone.

Constable Sherwood knows his community, as well as the beachcombers, and did some quick detective work to find the missing object.

"Theres four people in Port Aransas that pick up stuff that washes up on the beach. Sometimes its good stuff, sometimes its junk," he said. "I knew one of them would have it so I went out and found him."

Ariane 5 rockets launch from the Kourou Spaceport in French Guiana. The solid-rocket booster nosecones detach so a parachute can deploy for recovery. If the part is from the Ariane, it floated more than 2,500 miles (4,025 kilometers) from the South American coast in the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico.