Magnet fishermen find handcuffs, firearms, and bottle caps in Detroit River
ECORSE, Mich. (FOX 2) - With both arms attached to a cable, Tanner Torrez winds up and swings with all his might. The magnet attached to the end of the line goes flying into the river.
"It's almost like a hammer toss," he says as the magnet falls below the surface.
It's a cold gray day down at the Detroit River in Ecorse. But not too cold to go treasure hunting.
"The joy and the excitement you get when you pull something out of the water or your metal detecting and you pull something out of the ground - it’s unexplainable," said Torrez
Magnet fishing sounds like what it is. Someone tosses a magnet into the water and reels it back in, picking up any goodies along the way. Those goodies are of course not other fish, but the hidden metallic treasurers that lie beneath.
On top of the fun, it does the environment a bit of good as well.
"We are trying and doing our best to clean up some garbage and debris from the bottom of the river," said Jason Vanderwal.
Vanderwal and Torrez began their magnet fishing two years ago after being inspired by Vanderwal's 9-year-old daughter Avery. Her dad says she likes cleaning the waterways and doing some good.
"She likes to try to leave everything better than what we found it," he said.
These days, the pair spend time fishing at John D. Dingell Park in Ecorse.
"This is one of the nicer parks where I can bring my daughter to fish and we ended up finding a lot of garbage here. We're really focused on this park for the last year-and-a-half to try to get as much of the trash and debris out as much as we can," said Vanderwal.
They've found anything from knives and guns, to bottle caps and street signs.
Both men now run their own YouTube channels, which has pushed them into an even wider Internet community that spends its time hunting for treasures not necessarily waiting in a locked box.
Vanderwal, who is from Livonia, runs Motor City Magnet Fishers. Torrez of Lansing runs the Michigan Magnet Man page.
"We’ve come in to contact with so many great people throughout the community that also magnet fish, metal detect, and do all the other kinds of treasure hunting. We've got almost 180,000 people that follow us now," said Vanderwal.
A fundraiser is being held this summer for a second annual magnet fishing event. Find more here.