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Keys, phones and prosthetic legs: Sacramento diver recovers lost items

With nothing more than his kayak and snorkel gear, Karl Bly scours the bottom of the river looking for all sorts of items lost by rafters and boater.

CARMICHAEL, Calif. — Editor's Note: This story was originally published in 2021.

With nothing more than his kayak and snorkel gear, Karl Bly scours the bottom of the American River looking for all sorts of items lost by rafters and boater.

“To give you an idea, last year I pulled out 128 cell phones and 600 pairs of sunglasses,” Bly said.

Finding lost items is only part of what Karl does. His favorite part is returning them.

He created the American River Lost & Found Facebook page to show people the items. He uses the group to post what he finds and his followers help him find the owners.

“I’ve been searching for stuff all my life and about 10 years ago I discovered with social media I could help find some of the owners," Bly said.

Keys and cell phones aren’t the only items he finds. Back in June he found a prosthetic leg. Believe it or not, it wasn’t his first leg.

“We returned a second prosthetic leg. That was amazing. Not one, but two in a year,” Bly said.

Money, wallets and marine animals are among some of his more exciting finds, but Bly also makes a point to clean up trash and hazardous materials like needles and syringes.

Karl loves the American River and though he finds some valuable items, the thrill of the hunt is all the payment he needs.

“If someone loses something, you don’t want to charge them for it to get it back, especially if you have it in your hands," Bly said. "This is my donation. A pay if forward situation.”

Karl Bly is NorCal strong. If you want to nominate a strong Northern Californian send a text (916) 321-3310 and put NorCal Strong in the text. Feel free to send pictures and or web links in the submission.

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