A Colorado hiker discovered a forgotten land mine while trekking through a forest near an old U.S. Army training facility used during World War II, authorities said Tuesday.

The hiker, who was only identified as being from the Denver area, found what he believed to be an old training land mine while hiking near Camp Hale on July 20, the Eagle County Sheriff’s Office said.

He took care to stay clear and avoid tampering with the mine while photographing the device and documenting its location for authorities, according to the sheriff’s office.

The Explosive Ordnance Disposal team from Fort Carson was deployed and destroyed the device.

US MILITARY'S AERIAL RECONNAISSANCE PICTURES OF ENGLAND DURING WWII GO ONLINE FOR THE FIRST TIME

"The Team wanted to relay that even training devices can be dangerous and could cause serious injury or death if tampered with," the sheriff’s office said.

Officials confirmed the device was left behind from training exercises for the 10th Mountain Division that was stationed at Camp Hale during World War II.

Built in 1942, the training facility was home to as many as 14,000 soldiers who were trained in skiing, mountain climbing, and how to survive and fight in winter conditions.

NEW MEXICO MUSEUM HONORING WWII NAVAJO CODE TALKERS $40 MILLION SHY OF OPENING

The camp’s open valley was large enough to hold more than 1,000 buildings and structures, including parade grounds and weapons ranges, according to the U.S. Forest Service.

Camp Hale was operational for just three years, until November 1945, when the 10th Mountain Division relocated to Texas. The camp was officially declared a national monument in October 2022.

The sheriff’s office said it has received reports over the years of leftover equipment being found at Camp Hale. Officials warned visitors to be aware of their surrounding and report sightings of suspicious items to the sheriff’s office. 

A specific strain of E. coli associated with leafy greens has been the source of ongoing enteric illness since late 2016, according to research published in a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention journal. 

The article in the publication Emerging Infectious Diseases – led by Dr. Jessica Chen, who is a bioinformatician in the Division of Foodborne, Waterborne and Environmental Diseases at the CDC's National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases – found that the strain REPEXH02 is estimated to have emerged in late 2015. 

The study's authors said the agency has classified the strain of E. coli O157:H7 as a reoccurring, emerging or persistent strain. 

"We typically think of foodborne illness as either part of an outbreak or not," Chen told The Washington Post. "In 2019 we switched to using whole genome sequencing to look at the DNA of a strain and track the bacteria which cause foodborne illness. With this tool we can see if multiple outbreaks are caused by the same strain, and link related illnesses over months and years. We call strains that recur, are emerging or persisting over time REP strains of bacteria."

NEW YORK STATE DEPARTMENT RELEASE GUIDANCE AFTER 3 DEAD FROM FLESH-EATING BACTERIA IN NEW YORK, CONNECTICUT

Following analysis, an additional outbreak associated with the strain was detected in late 2020, during which 20 people were hospitalized and four developed hemolytic uremic syndrome. Hemolytic uremic syndrome, which is rare but serious, can impede blood clotting in infected people and cause kidney failure.

However, since then, no further outbreaks have been detected.

The article said E. coli O157:H7 is estimated to cause approximately 63,000 domestically acquired foodborne illnesses and 20 deaths across the U.S. annually. 

Such infections are often associated with abdominal cramps, bloody diarrhea and vomiting, in addition to hemolytic uremic syndrome. 

While healthy cattle have served as the main vector for the strain, contaminated food, water and environmental sources have also been the source of outbreaks, the authors noted. 

SALMONELLA OUTBREAK LINKED TO GROUND BEEF IN NORTHEAST SICKENS 16, HOSPITALIZES 6

"More recently, contaminated leafy greens have been recognized as a major source of E. coli O157:H7 illnesses and outbreaks. In foodborne illness attribution estimates for 2020 based on outbreak data, 58.1% of E. coli O157:H7 illnesses were attributed to vegetable row crops, a category that includes leafy greens. During 2009–2018, a total of 32 confirmed or suspected outbreaks of E. coli O157:H7 infections linked to contaminated leafy greens occurred in the United States and Canada," the article noted. 

It also highlighted that a large E. coli outbreak in late 2019 had caused 167 cases and 85 hospitalizations associated with the consumption of romaine lettuce from Salinas Valley, California.

They concluded that detailed genomic characterization of additional reoccurring, emerging or persistent strains is necessary to explain the factors that contribute to their emergence and persistence in specific environments.

E. coli, also known as Escherichia coli, are a large and diverse group of bacteria found in the environment, foods and intestines of people and animals.

Although most strains are harmless, the CDC notes that others can make you sick.