Friends of “Saltwater Sean” teased him about discovering a gun underwater one day, and that day came recently. He went snorkeling beneath the overpass in Fall River between Lake Fletcher and Lake Thomas a while back and was surprised when he noticed the outline of a single-barreled shotgun at the bottom.
Fall River is a suburb of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, that is part of the Halifax Regional Municipality. It’s in the Bedford Basin’s north-northeast corner, northeast of Bedford and Lower Sackville, and north of Waverley. Its name comes from a waterfall on a watercourse that runs between Miller Lake and Lake Thomas. During the 19th century, these falls provided water power for multiple mills, as well as a local electrical company in the early 20th century. In Fall River and the nearby communities of Wellington, Waverley, Windsor Junction, and Lakeview, there are numerous lakes as well as Laurie Provincial Park and Oakfield Provincial Park. Between 2011 and 2016, Fall River experienced some of the fastest population growth of any community in Halifax, with a 23.8 percent rise in population.
Sean contacted the RCMP, who dispatched an officer to investigate. The officer eased his fears by assuring him that by handling it, he didn’t tamper with any potential evidence because it had been submerged in water for at least a couple of decades and was covered in rust, so any fingerprints would be long gone. Sean will hear back from the RCMP, who will ship it to Ottawa for forensics to ensure it wasn’t used in any crimes.
Follow Up
The RCMP officer said he received word from Ottawa that the pistol was not acceptable for test firing or IBIS inclusion due to its condition. They discovered that it was a sawed-off Iver Johnson 12 GA Single Shot Shotgun, but the serial number had been obliterated, so they were unable to collect it.
In terms of the shotgun, the RCMP has the option of returning it to Sean as the finder or disposing of it. They may not allow it to be returned because it is a firearm, but given its state and the fact that it is no longer functional, they may.
As Sean parted ways, the RCMP officer joked that if he kept up his good work, they would see each other more often.
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