Magnet fishermen started searching canals and bayous after Hurricane Francine to see what they could find. To their surprise, they found something that could help the New Orleans Police Department solve a crime.
What Bryce Nachtwey and Joseph Harrick saw in a canal off of Sheffield Street in New Orleans East made them think magnets were real.
Nachtwey said, “At first, we did not know it was an ATM. Then we pulled it out of the water and went crazy.” It was crazy because it was the first ATM we had ever found.
They also found a safe and several guns. Is that the only thing they found?
“As we lifted the safe, we saw deposit bags inside and a big brick at the bottom.”
It looked like money when I opened it and turned it over. He said, “We found casino vouchers and thought we hit the jackpot. We were all going to be able to retire.”
Nachtey and Harrick say the value of the casino coupons was almost $50,000.
Nachtey told us, “We were finding $500 tickets, $100 tickets, and there were a tonne of tickets.”
It did not take them long to figure out that the coupons, the safe, and the ATM belonged to Carrollton Station Bar and had been stolen a few months before. After that, the fishers called the NOPD.
When the fishermen gave the safe and coupons back to Carrollton Station Bar, they were given a $400 bar tab as a reward.
Five-pound magnets can lift up to 3,500 pounds and are used to find things like safes and ATMs.