A second military projectile has been magnet-fished from the same Massachusetts river in less than a week
By Nic F. Anderson and Dalia Faheid, CNN
(CNN) — The discovery of a bazooka round on Wednesday marks the second time in a matter of days that a magnet fishing hobbyist pulled a military projectile from the Charles River in Needham, Massachusetts – raising questions about why old pieces of ordnance are being found there out of the blue.
It was “business as usual” for Josh Parker, a Brockton magnet fisherman and YouTuber, as he was magnet fishing with his friends on Wednesday morning, he said. That’s when he discovered the bazooka round in the water.
“I pulled it up and I was speechless. … I couldn’t even get words out,” Parker told CNN on Wednesday.
On Friday, another Brockton magnet fisherman and YouTuber, Sean Martell, pulled out a military projectile from the same stretch of river. That one, about 12 inches long and 4 inches in diameter, was in a “severely deteriorated state” and is believed to date from the World War I or World War II eras, a Massachusetts State Police spokesman said.
This week’s military projectile discovery was an old, heavily deteriorated bazooka round potentially from the World War II era, the state police spokesman, Dave Procopio, told CNN on Wednesday. Parker said he and about four other men pulled it out of the water.
After Parker pulled the projectile out of the river, two people from the Massachusetts State Police bomb squad arrived at about 1 p.m., took the round to a secure location and “safely counter-charged” it, rendering it safe, according to Procopio. It was disposed of in an unspecified area of town, according to a Facebook post from Needham police.
“The discovery of the round was the second time in a matter of days that a member of a magnet fishing group pulled an old piece of military ordnance from the Charles River under the Kendrick Street bridge,” Procopio said. “This begs: Why are these objects being found there all of a sudden?”
CNN has sought comment from Needham town managers. Needham is about an 18-mile drive southwest of Boston.
“In our experience, it is not common for people fishing with magnets to locate ordnance in bodies of water,” Procopio said. More often, they’ll wash up on a beach or be dug up at a construction site, he said.
Parker’s YouTube channel, 508 Magnets, invites viewers to follow him on “adventures as I magnet fish, dive and metal detect for hidden treasures all across Massachusetts and New England.”
“I’m glad it was me who pulled it up and not some kid,” Parker said, adding that he’s glad it’s out of the water so that the river is safer for those who frequent it.
“Magnet fishing is a great hobby. We’re cleaning the waterway, making sure it’s a better place for people and wildlife,” Martell told CNN after finding the projectile last week. “It’s taken a lot of impurities out of the water, makes it safer.”
CNN’s Michelle Watson contributed to this report.
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