Nate DeMontigny was magnet fishing from a bridge when he brought up a metal case – but what he found inside meant he had to contact authorities immediately
A fisherman was forced to contact police following a shocking discovery whilst reeling in his catch. Nate DeMontigny participates in what’s called magnet fishing – where one searches for magnetic items using a Neodymium magnet fastened to rope. He was fishing from a bridge when he pulled up a metal container.
Initially, Nate, who documents his magnet fishing adventures on his YouTube channel Cape Cod Magnet Crew, believed it was a cosmetics case.
Yet, just as he was preparing to dispose of the case in the bin, he chose to open it to check if anything was inside. And what he uncovered prompted him to ring the police.
He found a firearm, specifically a Derringer pistol, a compact weapon famous for its capacity to discharge just one or two rounds.
The firearm is named after its inventor Henry Deringer. Notably, one Derringer was allegedly used by John Wilkes Booth to murder Abraham Lincoln. Though, because newspapers at the time misspelt the weapon’s name, adding an additional r, the name Derringer stuck.
Discussing the discovery with Newsweek, Nate said he had a hypothesis about how it ended up in the river. He explained: “It was just an assumption but based on the fact it still had the tag, I guessed it was stolen and someone got scared about getting caught with it and tossed it.”
Nate, upon discovering his find, promptly contacted the local police force who attended to examine the weapon and remove it.
Nate revealed that Bridgewater’s Police Department will retain the gun for around a year to determine if anyone comes forward to claim it before deciding its fate.
Nevertheless, should he be permitted to keep it, Nate confirmed he has intentions to restore and preserve it. He said: “When I do get it back, I hope to clean it up and mount it in a shadow box. I think it is my best find at this point.”
Nate stated that it features among some of his finest discoveries during his time as a magnet fisher and mentioned that officers informed him “as long as it comes back clean, I can get it back”.
Nate is among numerous magnet fishers across the US. Whilst its main objective is to locate valuable items, it fulfils a secondary function of clearing rivers and lakes of metallic debris that can contaminate or obstruct waterways.
