Special Kind of Fisherman Finds Lost Money
2024-06-06
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1James Kane of New York City is a fisherman. But he does not eat what he catches.
2Instead of catching fish, he uses powerful magnets attached to long ropes to "fish" for junk in the city's lakes, rivers and ponds.
3Sometimes he pulls out trash, like old car parts.
4But recently, Kane said he found a heavy metal box called a safe.
5People use safes to store valuable items such as money, gold coins, jewelry or important documents.
6A safe has a door that swings open and can be locked.
7Last Friday, Kane and his girlfriend, Barbi Agostini, were magnet fishing in a lake in the Queens area of New York City.
8They pulled out the safe, opened it and found soaking wet bags of $100 bills.
9They recorded their catch on video.
10"Oh, that's money," Kane said in the video of the discovery. "Oh, it is! Stacks of bills, dude!"
11"Oh, my God!" Agostini says.
12The pair said they found almost $100,000 in hundred-dollar bills.
13However, many of the bills had decomposed and some were stuck together.
14It is not clear how many of the bills can be recovered and used again.
15Many of the bills showed recent markings - Kane said he plans to bring the found money to the Bureau of Printing and Engraving in Washington, D.C. to redeem it.
16When Kane and Agostini found the money, they called the police to investigate.
17According to a police statement, the money was not connected to a crime, so the couple is permitted to keep it.
18But the police warned the money was in very bad condition.
19"I guess you call it a finders keepers thing," Kane said.
20Kane and Agostini record their fishing outings and put the results on social media services such as YouTube.
21They have found bicycles, guns, jewelry and even a war weapon known as a grenade.
22They often find themselves calling police.
23Some videos show police taking possession of the dangerous objects.
24One showed them giving police a safe filled with credit cards.
25Magnet fishers work all over the country.
26They find things many others do not because they use very powerful magnets and ropes.
27These things let them reach parts of water far away from land.
28One magnet fisher found a human skull attached to an exercise weight in New Orleans, Louisiana.
29Another, in Georgia, found a gun and the belongings of two people who were killed nine years ago.
30Many people see the popularity of the magnet fishers on YouTube and wonder if the videos are real.
31In comments, they wonder if the finds are staged, or placed in the water ahead of time to make for a good video.
32Kane said he may just be lucky.
33"I have seen and worked with other magnet fishers that can hit a spot for three months, and I'll come along and throw the same magnet and get and find something that they've been trying to get the entire time," he said.
34"I personally can't explain that."
35Kane and Agostini have ideas for how to spend their $100,000.
36They plan to buy a new vehicle and more equipment so they can make better videos of their magnet fishing adventures.
37I'm Dan Friedell.
1James Kane of New York City is a fisherman. But he does not eat what he catches. 2Instead of catching fish, he uses powerful magnets attached to long ropes to "fish" for junk in the city's lakes, rivers and ponds. 3Sometimes he pulls out trash, like old car parts. 4But recently, Kane said he found a heavy metal box called a safe. People use safes to store valuable items such as money, gold coins, jewelry or important documents. A safe has a door that swings open and can be locked. 5Last Friday, Kane and his girlfriend, Barbi Agostini, were magnet fishing in a lake in the Queens area of New York City. They pulled out the safe, opened it and found soaking wet bags of $100 bills. 6They recorded their catch on video. 7"Oh, that's money," Kane said in the video of the discovery. "Oh, it is! Stacks of bills, dude!" 8"Oh, my God!" Agostini says. 9The pair said they found almost $100,000 in hundred-dollar bills. However, many of the bills had decomposed and some were stuck together. It is not clear how many of the bills can be recovered and used again. 10Many of the bills showed recent markings - Kane said he plans to bring the found money to the Bureau of Printing and Engraving in Washington, D.C. to redeem it. 11When Kane and Agostini found the money, they called the police to investigate. According to a police statement, the money was not connected to a crime, so the couple is permitted to keep it. But the police warned the money was in very bad condition. 12"I guess you call it a finders keepers thing," Kane said. 13Kane and Agostini record their fishing outings and put the results on social media services such as YouTube. 14They have found bicycles, guns, jewelry and even a war weapon known as a grenade. They often find themselves calling police. Some videos show police taking possession of the dangerous objects. One showed them giving police a safe filled with credit cards. 15Magnet fishers work all over the country. They find things many others do not because they use very powerful magnets and ropes. These things let them reach parts of water far away from land. One magnet fisher found a human skull attached to an exercise weight in New Orleans, Louisiana. Another, in Georgia, found a gun and the belongings of two people who were killed nine years ago. 16Many people see the popularity of the magnet fishers on YouTube and wonder if the videos are real. In comments, they wonder if the finds are staged, or placed in the water ahead of time to make for a good video. 17Kane said he may just be lucky. 18"I have seen and worked with other magnet fishers that can hit a spot for three months, and I'll come along and throw the same magnet and get and find something that they've been trying to get the entire time," he said. "I personally can't explain that." 19Kane and Agostini have ideas for how to spend their $100,000. They plan to buy a new vehicle and more equipment so they can make better videos of their magnet fishing adventures. 20I'm Dan Friedell. 21Dan Friedell adapted this story for Learning English based on a report by the Associated Press. 22_____________________________________________ 23Words in This Story 24junk -n. unwanted items, trash 25bill -n. paper money 26dude -n. (informal) an expression of surprise, or, literally, a man 27decomposed -adj. something that has rotted or fallen apart due to age or exposure to elements 28stuck -adj. two items touching each other that cannot be separated 29redeem -v. to turn something in, in order to get something back 30finders keepers -adj. (saying) used in a situation where something is found a person who then becomes its owner 31grenade -n. a small explosive shell that can be thrown by a soldier 32We want to hear from you. What is the most exciting thing you've ever found on the beach or in the water?