Clay Helkenberg has found a lot of interesting things scrounging around the bottom of local lakes.
A diver who does a lot of trash cleanups, Helkenberg brings up tossed-away tires, beer/pop cans and other items discarded by careless people.
But he’s never found a gun.
That changed during a recent dive into Chilliwack Lake. Helkenberg was about halfway out in about 15 feet of water when he saw something. Video filmed by another diver shows him grabbing that something from the floor of the lake, unwrapping it and finding a black handgun.
“I just thought it was a garbage plastic bag,” said Helkenberg, whose Instagram profile describes him as an underwater treasure hunter, diving below to see what others don’t. “I have found all sorts of stuff but have never found a real gun so I was excited.”
Not only did he find the gun, which has long been on his to-find list, Helkenberg also came up with a box of ammo.
Both items were turned in to police, and Helkenberg has allowed his imagination to work overtime thinking about how they got to the bottom of the lake.
“When I return an item like a phone it’s always funny hearing how the item got into the water,” he said. “But I will probably never know the true story for this.”
