A man and his grandson’s magnet fishing trip in Florida turned up a shocking catch on Sunday.
According to Fox News, Duane Smith and his 11-year-old grandson named Allen fished out a couple of Barrett sniper rifles from a canal in Princeton, Fla.
Smith saw a YouTube video on the fishing method and wanted to try it. The men ended up with only two pounds of scrap metal. But they also got “40 pounds of gun” between the two weapons, likely worth over $20,000.
Princeton is about a 45-minute drive south of Miami.
Sunday Fishing Trip Full of Fun, Gun Metal
Smith said the two used a 5-pound magnet in the C-102 canal near Princeton for their Sunday fun.
The news reports did not mention what kind of magnet Smith used, but Amazon sells a magnet fishing kit that comes with rope and gloves for nearly 30 bucks.
The 61-year-old said the unloaded guns “had so much mass” that the magnet “went straight to them.” Their first casting pulled out one gun. Five minutes later, they nabbed the second gun.
The pair didn’t turn up any ammunition for the semiautomatic weapons. The gun uses a bullet designed for the M2 Browning heavy machine gun.
There was one problem. Smith said the gun owner filed the serial numbers on the lower receivers of the firearms and the bolt of one of the rifles.
A former Army infantry officer, Smith told the paper that “whoever did this is not your run-of-the-mill criminal.”
Men Call Police To Turn Over Guns
Smith called the cops, and two officers came to pick up the guns. News reports did not mention if the two men resumed their magnet fishing.
Det. Christopher Thomas told the newspaper that it would take some time to determine a criminal used the guns in a crime.
“Judging by the photo, those have been there for a while. That said, it will take some time for the weapons to end up at our forensics lab. Once there, they will be processed,” Smith told The Miami Herald.
The grandfather made his own analysis, saying someone recently dumped the guns. He added the guns had plastic wrapping on them, and the men “wiped away most of the corrosion in 30 minutes.”
Smith also determined that the guns’ owner knew where they dumped the guns and would want to come back” for them.
Florida Fisherman Reels In Body
According to Newsweek, an Auburndale fisherman reeled in a dead body from Lake Stella. The angler called his father and the police to report his macabre catch.
WTSP reported the incident. The lake is about a five-hour drive north of Princeton.
Police identified the dead body as a 40-year-old resident who lived in the area. The unidentified man had recently returned to the site, officials said.
