Fisherman reels in surprise

Talk about it

WORTHINGTON — Imagine fishing for supper over a holiday weekend near Pickeral Park, only to catch a little more than you bargained for.

A fisherman spending a lazy afternoon on Lake Ocheda hooked a surprise while trolling Monday afternoon. When the tug on the line alerted him to a catch, he intended to reel in a fish, but instead caught a handgun wrapped in cloth.

According to Nobles County Chief Deputy Chris Heinrichs, the gun was turned in to the sheriff’s office as found property. The fisherman snagged the cloth wrapped around the gun and reeled it in. After peeling back the sodden cloth and realizing what he had caught, he contacted authorities and turned the gun over to them.

“It wasn’t one we were looking for,” Heinrichs said. “No one reported (a gun) missing or stolen. At this point, it doesn’t match anything we have active.”

The Nobles County Sheriff’s Office will check with other law enforcement in the area to see if anyone is looking for a weapon of this type, but so far, they haven’t heard of anyone looking for one.

“Somebody threw it in the lake, and we don’t know why,” Heinrichs concluded. “Perhaps it fell out of a boat unnoticed.”

The pistol will be stored in evidence for now and possibly sent on to the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension in the near future.

Tags: northland, outdoors, fishing, worthington, handgun, lake, ocheda