Residents who have lost items in the water at Crystal Shores Lakes may have a way to retrieve their treasures.
Okotokian Ian McLeod began diving in the lake in early June and soon learned there was more to the hobby than just enjoying getting underwater. Within a few weeks he had managed to retrieve a number of pairs of sunglasses, masks and other lost items from the bottom of the lake.
“I’ve probably dived in there 20 times in the last couple of months, usually with other people, and we all come out with a bag of stuff,” said McLeod. “Sunglasses, I couldn’t even tell you how many pairs of sunglasses, and those little kids’ swimming goggles.”
Some things are too damaged to keep, having been underwater for years, but there are times they come across items that have clearly been recently dropped, he said.
The items are turned in at the Crystal Shores Beach House, where staff place them in the lost and found or contact the person who reported their item missing.
“My biggest concern is that people lose these things and then walk away not thinking there’s any way they’re going to get them back,” said McLeod. “Now they have a way they can get them back, they just have to let us know.”
Anyone who’s lost something in the water can report it to the staff at the beach house and they will notify McLeod and his diving buddies when they go out. A description of the item and a general location is usually all that’s needed, he said.
Some things are harder to find than others.
“With two or three divers we can likely find something that’s been reported,” said McLeod. “Sunglasses? Pretty easy if you’ve got a rough idea on the location. A ring is a little harder, but anything larger than a pair of sunglasses, if you can get me within 100 square feet of it, I’ll find it.”
There have been a number of rings reported in the last month, he said. They’re more difficult to find because the bottom of the lake is very soft and a ring can settle beneath the surface pretty quickly, he said.
He got lucky on Aug. 5 though, when he went out in search of a couple of wedding bands that had been reported to the beach house. One of the owners came out to help pinpoint the location in the lake, and McLeod went underwater.
After diving down a few times he got a glimmer out of the corner of his eye and found the ring caught in some of the long grass on the bottom of the lake. He shot to the top, excited to show the owner his ring – but it was the wrong one.
“I found the other guy’s ring,” said McLeod. “Still, I was happy to hear we hadn’t just found some vending machine, crappy little thing that cost five cents. It was a major victory to be able to give this ring back to somebody.”
To help with more reunions with valuables, McLeod has invested in an underwater metal detector, which he’s excited to try out the next time he dives in Crystal Shores Lake.
McLeod, who has been diving on and off for 20 years, said he intends to continue combing the bottom of Crystal Shores until it gets too cold to be fun.
“If it gets into October or late October and I can get down there in shorts, I’ll be diving,” he said.
Until then, he’ll keep looking for lost items with the help of a few friends. More and more people are showing interest all the time, he said.
Most people didn’t realize until recently that it was possible to go diving in the community lake, he said.
“It’s so accessible and I’m meeting more and more people all the time who are interested, and just getting back into it again,” said McLeod. “I’d like to see it grow, maybe a group start up.
“The next big thing I’d really like to try is to get about 10 divers or more to do a real clean-up of the lake.”
