A mother was enjoying a day at the beach recently with her 9-year-old son when the two of them unexpectedly stumbled upon a small piece of Midwestern history: a century-old shipwreck.

Hannah Damon, director of outreach and administration at Camp Amnicon Adventures and Retreats in South Range, Wisconsin, made the discovery while spending time with her son along the camp's sandy shoreline.

The shipwreck is the A.H. Pitz, a steam-powered tugboat built in 1923. It was abandoned in 1951.

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Although Damon had known about the sunken vessel for years, she had never actually seen it until unusually clear water gave her and her son a rare glimpse of its remains.

"We started seeing beams and cables and this massive pipe, and it was like, wait a minute, this is a shipwreck, this is a shipwreck," Damon told Fox News Digital on Thursday.

Thrilled by the unexpected sighting, Damon rushed to grab her camera. 

"I ran back to shore and I got my camera, and I was like, OK, you are not allowed to splash me, this is a really exciting discovery," Damon recalled telling her son.

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Video taken by Damon shows the remains of the tugboat beneath clear water, with weathered wooden beams and other debris visible along the lakebed.

Damon described the water as "crystal clear" and glassy, an unusual sight along that stretch of Lake Superior.

The area sits within the Lake Superior clay plain, where the surrounding soil is largely composed of clay, which can make the water murky and obscure objects beneath the surface.

Damon said the wreck is fully submerged and usually difficult to see.

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"I was actually just down back at the beach yesterday, and again, the water was calm, but it was murky again," Damon said.

"I hope it's one of those things that, every once in a while, if you know where to look, you'll be able to find it. But it's definitely a rare find. It's really exciting."

The A.H. Pitz was built in 1923 for the McMullen and Pitz Construction Company in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, and named after Armond Pitz, according to the Wisconsin Historical Society.

The nearly 70-foot-long tugboat changed ownership several times before it was abandoned at the mouth of the Amnicon River in 1951.

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Damon said she'd heard the tugboat was intentionally sunk in 1951 to help stabilize a sandbar along the beach.

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"Even after swimming [here] and [being] on this particular beach for 10 or 11 years in a row, I had just never actually seen the shipwreck before," she said.

"It was really exciting to find it, to come across it, and I just couldn't wait to share it with the world."

Damon later showed footage of the shipwreck on social media, where others shared their own memories of the vessel.

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"It was probably the closest thing to ‘viral’ the Camp Amnicon has ever experienced," Damon told Fox News Digital.

Some commenters recalled seeing the vessel as far back as 1967, while others recognized its location along the Lake Superior shoreline.

Damon said the response has helped reconnect members of the community through a shared piece of local history.

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"I think that's the cool thing about archaeology and history and local culture, that this kind of stuff can bring us together," she said.

The man arrested for allegedly using a sledgehammer to behead a Marine figure on an Iwo Jima monument near Quantico, Virginia, is a Mexican illegal alien and former Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipient who lost his status this year, federal sources told Fox News.

Miguel Alonso Maldonado Soriano, 27, was charged with felony destruction of property, trespass with intent to damage property and felony injury to a monument.

"This criminal illegal alien’s dream is over: Maldonado Soriano disrespected our brave service members and defaced a beautiful monument that honored their sacrifice," White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said in a statement to Fox News. "President Trump has secured our border and is deporting illegal criminals who hate our country and our values. The socialist Democrats want to go back to open borders and flood our communities with dangerous criminal illegal aliens."

According to federal sources, Maldonado Soriano illegally crossed into the U.S. in December 1999. He was granted DACA by the Obama administration in 2014. It was recently extended by the Biden administration in 2024. Maldonado Soriano then lost his DACA status in August 2026 because it was not renewed by the Trump administration. 

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Officers with the Prince William County Police Department first responded to the incident at about 10:13 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 21. Maldonado Soriano was allegedly striking the monument with a sledgehammer when officers arrived.

Authorities said Maldonado Soriano was arrested after officers discovered extensive damage to the limestone sculpture, which commemorates one of the most recognizable moments in American military history.

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The damage included the complete removal of one Marine's head, along with damage to other figures depicted raising the American flag during the Battle of Iwo Jima in World War II, according to authorities.

Images of the damaged monument show the figure farthest to the right missing its head, while another Marine has visible gouges across his helmet and face, police told Fox News Digital.

A third figure sustained damage to a bayonet attached to a gun slung over his back. Police estimated the damage would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to repair.

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The damaged statue is a 9-foot limestone depiction of the iconic World War II flag-raising on Mount Suribachi during the 1945 Battle of Iwo Jima.

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It was sculpted by Felix de Weldon, who later created the massive bronze Marine Corps War Memorial in Arlington, Virginia.

The smaller monument stands near the entrance to Marine Corps Base Quantico near the National Museum of the Marine Corps.

Quantico, a major Marine Corps installation in northern Virginia, has served as a center for military training and education for generations.

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In 2001, portions of the installation were listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Quantico Marine Corps Base Historic District, encompassing 122 buildings, two landscapes, a sculpture and a water tower.

Maldonado Soriano is being held without bond, and a court date has not yet been announced.

A Virginia man was arrested after allegedly using a sledgehammer to knock the head off a Marine figure depicted in an Iwo Jima statue near Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia, causing hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage to the historic military monument, police said.

Officers with the Prince William County Police Department responded at about 10:13 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 21, to reports of vandalism at the statue near Richmond Highway and Fuller Road in Quantico, Virginia.

Police identified the suspect as Miguel Alonso Maldonado Soriano, 27, of Stafford, Virginia, who was allegedly striking the monument with a sledgehammer when officers arrived.

MASKED MAN CAUGHT ON CAMERA SMASHING VIRGIN MARY STATUE WITH A HAMMER OUTSIDE NYC CHURCH

Authorities said Maldonado Soriano was detained and arrested after officers discovered extensive damage to the limestone sculpture, which commemorates one of the most recognizable moments in American military history.

The damage included the complete removal of one Marine's head, along with damage to other figures depicted raising the American flag during the Battle of Iwo Jima in World War II, according to authorities.

Images of the damaged monument show the figure farthest to the right missing its head, while another Marine has visible gouges across his helmet and face, police told Fox News Digital.

A third figure sustained damage to a bayonet attached to a gun slung over his back. Police estimated the damage would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to repair.

WOMAN ACCUSED OF DEFACING WWII MEMORIAL WITH SPRAY PAINT INDICTED BY FEDERAL GRAND JURY

Maldonado Soriano faces charges of felony destruction of property, trespassing with intent to damage property and felony injury to a monument.

He is being held without bond, and a court date has not yet been announced.

Authorities have not disclosed a possible motive for the alleged attack or indicated whether the monument can be repaired.

The damaged statue is a 9-foot limestone depiction of the iconic World War II flag-raising on Mount Suribachi during the 1945 Battle of Iwo Jima.

EXCLUSIVE: NEW AMERICA 250 MONUMENT LETS FAMILIES FIND MILITARY RELATIVES IN SECONDS: 'I HAD TEARS IN MY EYES'

It was sculpted by Felix de Weldon, who later created the massive bronze Marine Corps War Memorial in Arlington, Virginia.

The smaller monument stands near the entrance to Marine Corps Base Quantico near the National Museum of the Marine Corps.

Quantico, a major Marine Corps installation in northern Virginia, has served as a center for military training and education for generations.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

In 2001, portions of the installation were listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Quantico Marine Corps Base Historic District, encompassing 122 buildings, two landscapes, a sculpture and a water tower.