Handgun found by magnet fisher in Grenloch Lake: 'Doesn't happen often at all'

PHILADELPHIA - Police say a grandfather was magnet fishing with his grandchildren when they pulled up an unsettling discovery from the water.

What we know:

Grenloch Lake, a small murky pool that borders the Black Horse Pike through Washington Township, is a popular roadside fishing hole for enthusiasts to cast a line, but police say it's rare to make a catch quite like this.

A grandfather magnet fishing with his grandkids pulled up a small handgun from the water, triggering a police investigation into how exactly the firearm wound up in the lake. 

"What started as a day of magnet fishing turned into a mystery for the police department to investigate," Washington Township Police Chief Patrick Gurcsik said. 

The gun was identified by police as a black Walther PPKS-style semiautomatic handgun, similar to those movie buffs may have seen in a James Bond film. Chief Gurcsik said it's rare for fishers to find items like this in the water.

"Doesn't happen often at all, I've been with the police department for 35 years and I can think of maybe one other time," Chef Gurcsik said, recalling an instance where a highway cleanup crew found a gun on the roadside.

What we don't know:

Police are now tasked with finding out everything they can about how the gun ended up in the water and if it's linked to any crimes.

"[The gun] is deteriorating a little bit from being in the water, so our officer and detective are trying to recover the serial number and trying to process the weapon and determine if it was possibly involved with a crime," Chief Gurcsik said. 

What they're saying:

Avid fishers like Steve Colgate have visited Grenloch Lake for many years, saying he's witnessed others pull up odd items, like a big toolbox, but never a gun. But he believes the swamp-like water would be a good place to ditch something nefarious.

"It would be easy to be driving here and just throw something into the lake," he said.