Ohio Father-son Fishing Trip Hooks Handgun
OutdoorHub Reporters 07.25.13
An afternoon of fishing remains one of the most popular bonding activities between fathers and sons, and that is exactly what Kenneth Rhoads had in mind earlier this week. The Ballville Township, Ohio angler and his visiting 15-year-old son Wendell Rochester drove to nearby Sandusky River for a chance at some bass. According to the Fremont News-Messenger, Rochester caught the first bite.
“He thought he had a big bite, a bass stuck underneath a rock,” Rhoads said. “I thought he had a big fish, so I grabbed the net.”
Rhoads knew something was wrong when there was no fight from the fish. As his son reeled the object in, they realized it was no fish at all but instead a .38 caliber handgun. Rochester at first thought it was a BB gun and removed the hook from where it had caught on the trigger.
“Right away [my son] said, ‘Aww, can we keep this?’” Rhoads recalled.
The anglers found the firearm to be unloaded and missing a magazine. It was then turned over to the Sandusky County Sheriff’s Office to be processed. A quick scan of the database showed no results for the gun. Firearms are commonly thrown in rivers and lakes by criminals as an easy way to dispose of evidence. In June of last year a revolver was found in Wisconsin’s Peshtigo River and was later identified as the weapon used in a 1956 bank robbery.
Rhoads intends on taking his son fishing again.
“He’s only here for a short while,” Rhoads said. “I thought it would be a wonderful day to go fishing.”
