Magnet fishermen Lorenzo Both (22) and Meickey Derksen (17) had a very special catch this week at the Victorie Park in Alkmaar. A real firearm suddenly stuck to their strong magnet. The guys, known as the magnet boys, are over the moon: “When you bring something like this up, you really get an adrenaline rush.”
Lorenzo from Schagen and Meickey from Akersloot have been avid magnet fishermen for six years now. Usually they pick up coins, bottle caps and nails, but every now and then they find something special. “You never really know what you’ll catch,” Lorenzo says. “That’s what makes the hobby so much fun.”
The magnet boys have already caught a lot of remarkable things. “In Amsterdam, for example, handbags with money, but also telephones.” And where an ‘ordinary’ fisherman is happy when he hooks a large carp, the magnet boys are delighted when they have something crazy about their magnet.
“It is really something special,” says Meickey, who previously told NH Nieuws would like a weapon once to fish up† “I was completely lost. We have also fished up a weapon in Amsterdam and now in Alkmaar, which is just fantastic.”
murder case
And if you find something like this, it is important to call the police immediately. “They came immediately and are going to do trace research,” says Lorenzo. The boys hope that the police can find out what the weapon was used for. “If your hobby might help solve a murder case, that’s great.”
A police spokesperson said it was a real firearm and that an investigation was underway. It is not yet known whether the weapon can be linked to an ongoing case.
NH Nieuws went fishing with the magnet boys in the Noordhollandsch Kanaal near Alkmaar and again the two brought up an object for which the police had to be called. You can see how that went in the video below: