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We had a guest speaker who has an unusual hobby that we found out about - thanks to a flub by esteemed member George Abraham. George was kayaking down American river when his kayak flipped at El Mante rapids and his phone fell in the river. His phone was found later by Karl Bly and friends, who dive in the area regularly to retrieve items lost in the river by paddlers and return to owners. With the help of a phone tracking software , George found that his phone was no longer in the water. He called his phone and Karl Bly answered “American River lost and found”. George got his phone back and learned about this unique service that Karl does in helping to find lost objects in the river, Actually, Karl has found over 128 phones in the river to date. So, George asked Karl to come to the Club and tell us about his exploits." Karl said that finding objects in the American River has become an obsession with him and he is fortunate to have a best partner, Melody, who lets him get away with it! He is out on the river with his equipment, dive suit and metal detector, almost every day throughout the year. He has found many unusual objects, someone’s prosthetic leg, a drone, wallets, a ten-year old police badge, sun glasses and wedding rings. Over the years, he has been noted on TV for finding a 1950’s piggy bank and sadly has participated in bringing out the bodies of drowning victims. Karl’s hobby is not a business, there is no charge for finding items – he just enjoys what he does. His Facebook page contains many of the “found items” and there is a very interesting history of his exploits. I, think we should glad that we have someone like Karl and his friends who are doing the important business of finding lost items on the American River. Past President Vicky gave Karl a book about Carmichael as a “thank you” for his presentation. |
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| (left): Terie and Karl Bly, P.P. Vicky Boatwright; (right): Tara and George Abraham |
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| From the Facebook page, American River "Lost and Found" Karl showing a found phone (left); (right) some of the many objects found |
