Magnet fishing and unexpected fortune found: Anglers reel in £88,000 from Flushing Meadows Lake
A pair of anglers had been occupied not so much with catching fish in the lake at Flushing Meadows Park as with retrieving valuable items. This time, however, their haul surpassed their wildest expectations. A safe full of money got attached to their magnet fishing line.
The surprising catch occurred on 31 May at the lake in Flushing Meadows Corona Park in New York. Experienced treasure hunters, James Kane and Barbie Agostini, cast a line with a strong magnet.
The magnet was strong enough to attach to an old safe. The sight of the safe was unsurprising to the pair, as they had already caught empty safes in the waters numerous times. But this one was exceptional. It turned out to be full of money!
It was two stacks of freaking hundreds. Big stacks - said James Kane in an interview with NY1 station.
After counting, the safe contained about £88,000.
Police made a decision regarding the money
The anglers called the police to the scene. The officers who inspected the safe were amazed. They had never encountered anything like it before.
But even more surprising was their decision regarding the money in the safe. They allowed the couple to keep the entire find. Identifying the owner of the cash from the safe proved to be impossible. There were no documents, and nothing indicated that the found cash could be the object of a crime. Unfortunately for the finders, many of the banknotes were soaked and damaged.
The pair of unusual anglers confessed that they have been engaged in “magnet fishing” for several years, starting during the COVID-19 pandemic. So far, they have found, among other things, 19th-century weapons, World War II grenades, and a motorcycle.
