River Diver Finds Sunken $15k Prosthetic Leg And Ends Up Identifying Owner

Oct 08, 2020 by apost team

Karl Bly is a river diver from California who has been finding items that were thought to be irrevocably lost, from phones and watches to cameras and glasses. He posts his finds on a Facebook page and has helped hundreds of people find items they had given up on finding. In August 2020, he found a prosthetic leg lodged into the river floor. He urged his followers to share the item until it reached its owner, and thanks to the power of social media and people's good intentions, the owner was finally found. 

Karl Bly seems to be the kind of person that strives to make the world a better place. As a California native, he uses his passion for river diving to help others find what they have lost. Every time he finds something on the river's floor after diving, he posts it on his Facebook page American River Lost and Found. The posts are shared on multiple platforms until it finally reaches the owner to whom the item is returned. Until now, he has recovered around 122 iPhones, watches, glasses, and all types of miscellaneous objects. 

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On a Saturday, Karl had been diving as usual when he saw something that gave him a fright in the murky depths. In a message he wrote to Apost, he said, 

"Reminiscent of a scene from JAWS, I was startled when I saw the human foot in the murky water. I dove down to get a closer look and was relieved to see the mechanics of a prosthetic leg attached to the foot. "

He knew exactly what this find meant. "While still holding my breath and before I reached the surface I realized that whoever lost it, probably needed it back ASAP. I paddled straight to shore and started to create a Facebook/Instagram post."

He hoped that by posting about it, he could reunite the prosthetic leg with its rightful owner by encouraging others to share his finding as far and wide as possible. He added that "Within the hour, FaceBookers (& Instagramers) had shared and reposted with various support groups and prosthetic manufacturers."

It didn't take long for the post to start making the rounds. By the next morning, the post had reached its intended recipient. Karl said that he "received a message from Scott, he described a few details about the leg, how he lost it and even sent some pictures of him camping with the leg. So I knew he was the owner."

Karl and Scott planned to meet that evening at a local Starbucks so that the leg could be returned. When they met, Scott was very grateful to Karl for his service because it would have been difficult for him to work without his prosthetic limb. 

"He mentioned that he worked as a longshoreman and without the prosthetic he would have not been able to work. He said the cost to replace the leg would have been around $15,000. He said it was a 3-week process of creating molds of his leg, forming the prosthetic, then doing custom fits and adjustments. He was most worried about missing work during that process. It would have cost him thousands more in lost work."

Over the course of his work, Karl has returned hundreds of lost items to their owners. Most people lose hope of ever getting back something they see falling to the depths of murky waters. It must be an indescribable feeling to be reunited with something you thought you would never get back. 

Karl added at the end: "This year alone, there have been 117 cell phones found and I have returned over 80 of them. I've also returned wallets, fishing poles, cameras and much more. Each with a thankful owner and some including stories of irreplaceable photos, videos, memorabilia and identification cards. Every one of those returned items gives me inspiration to get out there and find more stuff to return, but finding and returning Scott's prosthetic leg is far and away the most rewarding event of this season."

Thanks to his efforts on American River Lost And Found, many people continue to be reunited with items they had lost hope of ever finding. 

What did you think of Karl's wonderful deeds? Have you ever found something in a river? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below, and be sure to share this story with someone to make their day a little better.