A Florida man and his grandson have a different type of fish tale to tell.
Duane Smith and his 11-year-old grandson, Allen Cadwalader, went out on a magnet fishing trip in the Miami suburb of Homestead on Jan. 30. Just minutes into their expedition, the duo pulled up not scrap nor tossed cans, but sniper rifle receivers and bolt carrier groups wrapped in shrink wrap.
“With magnet fishing every time I cast out or every other time I’m coming up with something,” Duane told CNN on Wednesday. “There’s a bottle cap or you know, $7,000 sniper rifle.”
Smith, a retired infantry soldier who specializes in deploying sniper weapons, immediately knew the 20-pound firearms were military grade. He said it took him nearly a half hour to clean them off, but when he finally finished, he found the serial numbers had been scratched off.
Smith added that he only recently became interested in magnet fishing by watching YouTube videos.
It’s a hobby that relies on a strong magnet attached to a thick rope to pull up metal objects that have fallen into any type of body of water. Smith said he believed it would be far more engaging for his grandson, who has autism, than regular fishing.
Their trip at the end of January was the first time they’d ever tried magnet fishing, Duane said.
The sniper rifles have since been turned over to Miami-Dade Police and will likely be sent to a forensics lab to be processed, depending on their condition. Authorities are also looking into whether or not they were used in any crimes.
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