- A couple found a safe while magnet fishing in Queens, New York.
- Inside were bundles of cash — worth an estimated $100,000. Police said they could keep it.
- Magnet fishing involves using high-powered magnets to retrieve items from underwater.
A magnet-fishing couple found a sunken safe in the depths of a lake in Queens, New York. Inside were bundles of cash, with an estimated value of around $100,000, according to Spectrum News NY1.
James Kane and Barbie Agostini told the outlet that they reported their find to the New York Police Department, and were pleasantly surprised when they were told they could keep their discovery.
There's no sense of how the safe ended up in the lake.
According to Spectrum News NY1, the couple was in Flushing Meadows Corona Park on Friday magnet fishing — a hobby they got into during the COVID-19 lockdowns.
Magnet fishing involves attaching high-powered magnets to a rope and lowering it into the water to retrieve valuable items.
The activity is like "poor man's treasure hunting," Kane told the local outlet.
But this time they struck gold.
The pair told Spectrum News NY1 that, in the past, they had found a World War II grenade, a motorcycle, old guns, and a purse containing foreign currency and jewelry.
When they initially pulled up the safe and discovered bundles of soggy hundred-dollar bills, Agostini told Spectrum News NY1 she thought it was a joke.
Then, she said: "I lost it."
Although many of the notes were soaking wet, and some almost entirely destroyed, the couple decided to inform the police because of any potential "legalities," per Spectrum News NY1.
"Finders keepers rule has worked for us," Kane told the outlet after they were told they could keep the money.
The NYPD did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The cost of magnet fishing equipment varies. Kits start at about $15 on Amazon, but specialist kits can cost hundreds.
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