When a resident saw a HistoryRevived video that showed European fishermen uncovering World War II treasures with a rope and a magnet, it gave him an idea.
On Saturday morning, under sweltering temperatures, the man, whose name was not released, attached a heavy magnet onto a long thin rope and dropped into the water off the dock at Pillings Pond on Summer Street.
Within minutes, it latched onto something. But it was no war relic.
Instead, he brought up a fully-loaded Uzi submachine gun. Named for Uziel Gal, an Israeli army officer who developed it after the Arab-Israeli war of 1948, the compact automatic weapon is used by police, special forces, and sometimes criminals.
That’s when the fisherman called police.
Officer Patrick Curran arrived and over the next few minutes, four more loaded weapons were collected by the magnet including a .40 caliber Glock handgun which the manufacturer says is best for long distance shooting situations; a Colt Cobra, a lightweight, double-action short-barrelled revolver; an unknown revolver with significant corrosion; and another corroded unknown semi-automatic handgun which appeared to be a small caliber sport shooting gun.
“In my more than 35 years on the force, I’ve never seen anything like it,” said Capt. Karl Johnson. “It’s a little strange.”
Lt. Thomas Ryan, a spokesman for the Massachusetts State Police, said Lynnfield police were assisted at Pillings Pond by the Dive Team, the Firearm Identification and the Crime Scene units with firearm recovery.
But due to the poor visibility in the pond, no other weapons were found, Johnson said.
The State Police took the weapons for further analysis.
Magnet fishing, which involves using powerful magnets to retrieve objects from waterways, appears to be gaining in popularity.
Amazon offers nearly 400 magnets from the Hawk for $1.75 that promises to lift a five-pound treasure to $456 for a Mag-Mate which says it’s capable of bringing up a 1,000 pound object.
Melvyn Derouen, owner of Maison de la Detection, a Paris retailer who specializes in magnets, told MSN it doesn’t take much effort to drag up unusual items.
“Fisherman say, I caught a big pike, I caught a big carp, but for magnet fisherman it’s, ‘I brought back a fridge or a scooter.’ ”
