Looking for fireamrs under bridges?

[mech]

I'm an avid fire arms collector.
Please consider all fire arms loaded,hot and ready to shoot.
Thinking that something is within the trigger guard that could fire the weopon is a safe bet.
Please be careful.
As mentioned earlier please turn in all fire arms to the proper authorities.There are so many reasons why this makes sence if you think about it.It's just the right thing to do.
Good luck and watch out for needles.

 

[Tekk Diver]

Well.. as a matter of fact.
Back in 2001, I found a glock-9mm under the 5th Street Bridge..in Augusta, Georgia.. in the Savannah River.. It was during a local "River Clean-Up/Scavenger Hunt", where dive related prizes are awarded..

Needless to say.. the authorities had to be notified.. And the pistol was confiscated.

 

[John C. Ratliff]

About 27 years ago, my girl friend and I were snorkeling in the Siletz River, Western Oregon. She saw something interesting under the bridge, in about 30 feet of water (vizibility about 15 feet in the summer). I surface dived to the bottom, and found a 300 Savage rifle. I did pick it up, and brought it out of the water. My girl friend's parents were with us, and lived in Hood River (in a different county from the one we were in). Her father knew the Sheriff in that county, and the gun was turned in there. There was no report of a missing rifle, and no one claimed it, so they were able to keep the rifle (if he had turned it in locally, he probably would not have been able to claim it). It was in good condition, and I feel it was in the water less than two days. We speculated that someone was trying to moonlight deer (hunt after dark, which is illegal), was nearly caught and dumped the rifle just before being pulled over. It sounds good, at least.

I agree that, especially with a hand gun, it could be a piece of evidence in a crime, and the law officers should be called to salvage it. This was many, many moons ago, and in a rural setting, so those considerations did not, we felt at the time, apply.

About ten years ago, I found a 22 caliber rifle, which was quite rusted and, I felt, very dangerous as it still had a bullet in the chamber. The warnings here are quite appropriate. I believe that I took it to the Sheriff, and they disposed of it.

SeaRat

 

[budgy]

Check out the river diving pages at http://www.mindspring.com/~divegeek

 

[Distraction]

1. I grew up with firearms and would always treat any gun as if it were ready to go off at any second. Even when the firing mechanism is removed from a gun, I always point it in a direction that would be safe to discharge. Daddy taught me that 25 years ago and it stuck. Old habits die hard, but they are good habits.

2. They do have an annual river dive here in the James...if I remember correctly. I've seen pics of police next to volunteers combing the river to clear it of junk. They find lots of garbage (cans, etc.) cars, bikes, etc., and of course some guns. But that's once a year.

3. I have a buddy of mine who is friends with a State Trooper. I asked him to talk to the Trooper. It's fairly obvious that any weapon (especially a handgun) found underwater has about a 99.x% probablility of being stolen and/or used in a crime. Possession of said firearm is illegal. But he said that it should be turned in, they'll run a check on it. If it's not shown up as stolen he said they'll return it. But I heard from another source that they destroy the gun. Neither source said that I should 'mark' the gun and have the police recover it. Bringing it in seemed fine to them.

Just curious if anyone else has ever done this. To be honest, I was hoping there was a reward for turning in the guns (even if it was like $25 per gun). I'm trying hard to figure out a way to have my hobby pay for itself.

 

[GoBlue!]

budgy once bubbled...
Check out the river diving pages at http://www.mindspring.com/~divegeek

So nice to see my BOW instructor's (from the mid-90's) website still being quoted. Harris is an avid river diver, and a wealth of info. Some great river diving info on his site.

Jim

 

[CincyBengalsFan]

I own an underwater metal detector and we find Jewerly and cell phones all the time. One time the cell phone still worked. That same dive we found some playboys. Put them on the shore to dry. Came back a little while later and they had been ripped off...It was funny.

 

[BigJetDriver]

Distraction once bubbled...
3. I have a buddy of mine who is friends with a State Trooper. I asked him to talk to the Trooper. It's fairly obvious that any weapon (especially a handgun) found underwater has about a 99.x% probablility of being stolen and/or used in a crime. Possession of said firearm is illegal. But he said that it should be turned in, they'll run a check on it. If it's not shown up as stolen he said they'll return it. But I heard from another source that they destroy the gun. Neither source said that I should 'mark' the gun and have the police recover it. Bringing it in seemed fine to them.

Just curious if anyone else has ever done this. To be honest, I was hoping there was a reward for turning in the guns (even if it was like $25 per gun). I'm trying hard to figure out a way to have my hobby pay for itself.

Point #3 is cetainly a pet peeve of mine, and evidence of an attitude among the rank and file that the training agencies (such as my own, IANTD) are trying to change.

Recoving the weapon without going through proper procedures is just SALVAGE. It is a far cry from EVIDENCE RECOVERY, with its attendant "chain of custody" and evidentiary requirements. Without these procedures being followed, peripheral trace evidence will inevitably be lost! Worse, any evidentiary chain that could be established will be broken, leading to impeachment of that piece of evidence in court, and a lost case!

PLEASE, folks, do it the RIGHT way. Mark it, and let the recovery team come and get it.

As the finder, depending on local law, if it is not stolen or lawfully claimed, it should be returned to you. If not, there may well be a "Crimefighters" reward available to you.

(REF: Public Safety Diver Student Manual and Workbook by Michael Horton, published by IANTD, Int'l)

 

[walter scott]

One might have better luck using a LARGE magnet tied to a string and simply throw and drag and see what comes up.
I would think there would be a lot of wedding rings and such as that.

 

[BradB]

Walter, only ferrous materials (iron) stick to magnets. You give your woman a wedding ring with ferrous materials and your probably gonna be divorced before ya even get to the honeymoon.