Couple finds $100,000 in cash while fishing, police allow them to keep it all
The cash was found in a safe at the bottom of a lake. The couple found it during their session of magnet fishing.
A COUPLE in the US found a safe containing $100,000 (around ₹83 lakh) in cash at the bottom of a lake. They were using a magnet attached to a line, a hobby known as magnet fishing, when they discovered the heavy object, according to NY1.
The couple, James Kane and Barbie Agostini, pulled the old safe from the water. They opened the safe and found the discovery inside, wrapped in plastic, but the couple told the publication that the water had ruined it.
The couple stumbled upon magnet fishing as a new adventure. So far, they have found a WWII-era grenade in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, and about six or seven old guns, some from the 19th century, in Flushing Meadows.
The couple had taken up magnet fishing during the pandemic lockdown, driven by boredom and Kane's lifelong fascination with treasure hunting. He described the hobby as "the poor man's treasure hunting" in an interview with NY1. Kane remarked that the "finders keepers" rule seemed to work well for them.
Kane mentioned that, as experienced magnet fishermen, he and Agostini had discovered many safes before, usually finding them empty except for some plastic bags that might have held money. He thought this safe would be empty, too, and he was shocked when it wasn't. Agostini thought Kane was joking.
Allowed to keep the cash
They contacted the NYPD to prevent legal issues. When officers came to check the unusual situation, they informed the couple that it was a unique case they had never encountered before.
Kane and Agostini were allowed to keep the cash they discovered since there was no way to identify the safe's owner, and it was probably stolen.
However, the dollar notes they received were “soaking wet, pretty much destroyed", Kane told NY1.
