Current:Home > FinanceNYC couple says they reeled in $100,000 in cash stuffed inside safe while magnet fishing: "Finders keepers" -Quantum Growth Learning
NYC couple says they reeled in $100,000 in cash stuffed inside safe while magnet fishing: "Finders keepers"
View
Date:2025-04-16 08:11:27
A New York City couple known on social media for their magnet fishing exploits in local waterways says they recently reeled in an unexpected find: a safe holding two stacks of waterlogged hundred dollar bills.
James Kane and Barbie Agostini, who have chronicled a variety of magnet fishing discoveries on their YouTube channel, told Spectrum News NY1 on Saturday that after reeling in a muddy safe from a Queens pond on Friday, they were shocked to find stacks of hundred dollar bills estimated to be worth $100,000.
"I said 'Babe, This is not possible, Holy 'some profanity' ... and we pulled it out and it was like two stacks of freaking hundreds," Kane told the station. "Big stacks."
Video showed the couple's muddy discovery — along with partially disintegrated hundred dollar bills inside.
Kane, who said the couple previously found many old safes, said he assumed he'd only find empty plastic bags that typically held money — and was stunned to find actual cash inside.
Agostini said she thought Kane was joking when he announced the contents of the safe.
"Once I seen the actual dollars … and the security ribbons, I lost it," she said.
Kane said they contacted the NYPD because he thought there may be some "legalities" involved. Because the owner of the safe, which was likely stolen, could not be identified, Kane and Agostini said police allowed them to keep the saturated stash.
"I guess the finders keepers rule has worked for us," Kane said.
Unfortunately, the bills were "soaking wet" and "pretty much destroyed," Kane said.
CBS News has reached out to the NYPD for comment.
Kane told NY1 that he and Agostini started magnet fishing because they were bored during the coronavirus pandemic.
"We call it the poor man's treasure hunting," he told the station.
Kane said they've reeled in everything from World War II grenades and 19th century guns to a motorcycle and a purse holding foreign coins, pearls and gold jewels. Their YouTube channel chronicling their adventures has more than 4,000 subscribers and about 1.4 million views.
People fishing with magnets have made other surprising discoveries in recent months. In May, a magnet fisher reeled in a human skull padlocked to an exercise dumbbell out of a New Orleans waterway.
In April, someone using a magnet to fish for metal objects in a Georgia creek pulled up a rifle as well as some lost belongings of a couple who were killed in the same area nearly a decade ago.
In March, magnet fishermen pulled an unexploded ordnance from the Charles River in Massachusetts. Just a few days before that, another one was found in the same area, CBS News Boston reported.
- In:
- Queens
- New York City
Stephen Smith is a managing editor for CBSNews.com based in New York. A Washington, D.C. native, Steve was previously an editorial producer for the Washington Post, and has also worked in Los Angeles, Boston and Tokyo.
veryGood! (13)
Related
- Questlove charts 50 years of SNL musical hits (and misses)
- Natalie Portman and husband Benjamin Millepied finalize divorce after 11 years of marriage
- Biden signs a package of spending bills passed by Congress just hours before a shutdown deadline
- Lead-tainted cinnamon has been recalled. Here’s what you should know
- Senate begins final push to expand Social Security benefits for millions of people
- Economy added robust 275,000 jobs in February, report shows. But a slowdown looms.
- 'God help her': Dramatic video shows zookeepers escape silverback gorilla in Fort Worth
- Maryland Senate passes bill to let people buy health insurance regardless of immigration status
- Military service academies see drop in reported sexual assaults after alarming surge
- Former president of Honduras convicted in US of aiding drug traffickers
Ranking
- Romantasy reigns on spicy BookTok: Recommendations from the internet’s favorite genre
- Natalie Portman and Benjamin Millepied divorce after 11 years of marriage
- Behind the scenes with the best actor Oscar nominees ahead of the 2024 Academy Awards ceremony
- A dog on daylight saving time: 'I know when it's dinner time. Stop messing with me.'
- Mets have visions of grandeur, and a dynasty, with Juan Soto as major catalyst
- Lead-tainted cinnamon has been recalled. Here’s what you should know
- Peek inside the gift bags for Oscar nominees in 2024, valued at $178,000
- Princess Diana's brother Charles Spencer reveals sexual abuse at British boarding school
Recommendation
Rylee Arnold Shares a Long
Virginia governor signs 64 bills into law, vetoes 8 others as legislative session winds down
Duchess Meghan talks inaccurate portrayals of women on screen, praises 'incredible' Harry
Why The Traitors’ CT Tamburello and Trishelle Cannatella Aren't Apologizing For That Finale Moment
Former Danish minister for Greenland discusses Trump's push to acquire island
What is happening in Haiti? Here's what to know.
A bill that could lead to a nation-wide TikTok ban is gaining momentum. Here’s what to know
Books on Main feels like you're reading inside a tree house in Wisconsin: See inside