You are never too young to start solving crimes. This is a lesson that most of us learn from watching shows like Scooby-Doo (I mean Scrappy must be only three years old) and reading the Nancy Drew mystery novels. Yet when we watch these shows and read these books there is always an element of disbelief, no not the talking dog, but the incredible maturity of these young kids. Recently a six-year-old boy put his crime-solving skills to work when he managed to find missing treasure from a ten-year-old robbery.
Knox Brewer is six years old and as well as having the most incredible name, he has an attitude to match. During the coronavirus pandemic, Knox took up a new hobby to pass the time, magnet fishing. Magnet fishing is where you place a strong magnet on the end of a fishing line and try to retrieve metallic options from the water. This has become a popular pastime during the coronavirus but people should be cautious as you never know what you will pull up from the water’s depths. In some countries in Europe, magnet fishing is actually banned as they fear there are unexploded bombs at the bottom of rivers that if disturbed will explode, a scary thought. Yet Knox Brewer lives in South Carolina and as far as we know has nothing to fear by magnet fishing in the area.
Knox was magnet fishing at Whitney Lake recently when his magnet caught something. It was heavy and he struggled to pull it from the water so asked a family member to help. Whatever it was, was lodged at the bottom of the lake and struggled to come free but with a little extra pull, they started to get it to the top of the water. When it came up it appeared to be a small metal box and when they got it closer they saw that it was a safe. They retrieved it to the land and once opened found old jewelry, a checkbook, and some credit cards.
While finding treasure is every child’s dream and a locked safe is the modern equivalent of pirate’s gold, Knox and his father knew that what they had found needed to be reported. They called the police and handed in the treasure. The police soon got to the bottom of it. A woman in the area had been robbed ten years earlier and the items that were stolen had never been retrieved, until now.
Knox had finally found some of the stolen items. While the woman had replaced her credit cards and got a new checkbook she was delighted to be reunited with her jewelry and more importantly given some closure on the entire event. When she met with Knox to get the box back she bent down, gave him a big hug, and thanked him.
Knox was incredibly elated with his discovery and has been an avid magnet fisherman since. Perhaps this safe is the greatest discovery he will make or perhaps it is the first find that starts him on an incredible journey of finding buried treasure, we will have to come back in a few years to find out.
The coronavirus pandemic has caused a lot of problems but it has also given people the opportunity to try new things, to help others, and to find out a little more about ourselves. Knox’s little discovery will be the highlight of his summer and who knows what path it will lead him on next. Life is uncertain and even though it sometimes offers challenges. These challenges may bring about until rewards.