Imagine this: a teenage boy and his father, armed with a magnet, pull a safe from the murky depths of a river.
But this isn’t just any safe.
It’s filled with thousands of Australian dollars and it’s been missing for 22 years.
This is the remarkable story of 15-year-old George Tindale and his father Kevin, who made this extraordinary find while magnet fishing in the River Witham in Grantham, Lincolnshire.
The father-son duo had been scouring the river when they stumbled upon the old safe.
As they wiped away the mud and slime they discovered a pouch containing 2,500 Australian dollars (around £1,400).
But that wasn’t all.
Inside the safe was also a shotgun certificate and bank cards that expired in 2004.
These clues led them to the safe’s rightful owner, a businessman named Rob Everett.
Rob had lost the safe during a burglary at his office back in 2000.
The thief was a teenager who had left behind a cap with their name stitched into it, leading to their capture.
But the safe had remained missing until George and Kevin’s incredible discovery.
After making contact with Rob, the kind-hearted family decided to return the stolen property.
They visited Rob at his business in Grantham to hand over the safe and its contents.
George, from Newark, Nottinghamshire, was astounded by the find.
“I mean it was amazing really. We pulled this safe out and it had all that money in. We counted it roughly on the bank and I think we totaled it about two and a half grand and we were just shocked,” he said.
Rob was equally surprised and grateful.
He runs Winkworth and the Money Options Group and remembered the burglary vividly.
“I remember at the time, they smashed into a cabinet to get to the safe. I was just upset that there was a nice pen on my desk, a Mont Blanc that was never recovered. I was just amazed that they’d been able to track me down,” he said.
Rob was deeply moved by the Tindales’ honesty and kindness.
“For me, I just felt there are some really nice and good people in this world. They could have kept the money, they could have said they attempted to get hold of me. They wanted to return the contents and the goods to the rightful owners and I think that says a lot about humanity,” he said.
In appreciation of their good deed, Rob offered George a reward and a future opportunity.
“What’s good about it is that George is a good mathematician apparently, and I run a wealth management company now, and I’ve offered him work experience when he’s ready to give him something back, give him some opportunity. I’d love him to work for us. He’s only 15 but give him a bit more time and I’d be happy to give him an opportunity,” he said.
George’s magnet fishing adventures, which he shares on his YouTube channel ‘Magnetic G’, are not just about treasure hunting.
His mother, Denise, explained that George is very environmentally conscious and his work also highlights river pollution and its harmful effects on wildlife.
“When he first started to do this, he was after treasure. Everything ends up in the rivers and canals,” she said.
Denise expressed her gratitude for Rob’s offer of work experience for George.
“How nice is that? It’s just a lovely story. It was absolutely the best feeling in the world. Robert was over the moon. It’s ironic, because it was a 12/13 year old lad that stole from him and my son is 15. It was stolen by a teenager and a teenager has given it back,” she said.
George’s magnet fishing hobby, which started just three years ago, has already earned him sponsorship from Online Magnets, one of the UK’s leading suppliers.
Watch dad and son make the discovery for themselves in the video below.
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Source: DailyMail, YouTube – Magnetic G
