“The worst day fishing beats the best day working” is a truism many people hold to.
But sometimes you never know what you will catch.
And when these kids ignored a “no trespassing” sign at this property and went fishing anyway, their fun trip turned into a script for a horror movie.
Fishing is one of the oldest human practices on record, dating back thousands of years.
Archaeologists have discovered fish hooks made of bone as well as ancient cave paintings depicting early humans fishing.
There are currently some 34,000 species of fish in the world.
This is more than every amphibian, reptile, mammal, and bird species combined.
Today, the fishing industry contributes over $240 billion to the global economy each year.
But fishing is more than a major industry.
Fishing has become a hobby and sport to millions of people all around the world.
Each year, more than 49 million people participate in recreational fishing in the United States alone.
American anglers spend a whopping $7.4 billion each year on fishing gear and supplies.
As the old saying goes, “A bad day fishing is better than a good day at work.”
This is true for the millions of Americans who enjoy spending a day outside at a lake, pond, or river trying to catch a mess of fish.
But a group of young boys in Mississippi just had one fishing trip that will likely haunt them for the rest of their lives.
On May 5, the boys ignored the many “no trespassing” and “no fishing” signs to try and reel in a big one at a pond, located on city government-owned property in Rankin County, Mississippi.
And it turned into one fishing trip they will never forget, for all the wrong reasons.
They didn’t catch any fish, but one of the boys reeled in a catch and was horrified to discover a human leg attached to his hook.
The leg even still had a sock on it.
The boys immediately ran and called the police to report their horrific catch to the authorities.
“Once the kids pulled in the leg, police were immediately called as the Rankin County coroner arrived at the location,” Newsweek reported. “According to police, the leg was taken to the medical examiner’s office to start a DNA process in an effort to identify who it belonged to.”
The leg was mostly bones, indicating that it had been in the water for quite some time.
Detective Sean Haddakin told reporters that, “As part of this investigation, we are seeing all the missing persons reports from this area and broadening it out from there,” before adding that “we need to identify male, female — we don’t have any of that information at this time.”
Police then found more bones in the lake the following day.
Right now, authorities haven’t identified the owner of the missing leg, or whether foul play may have been involved.
But the boys will certainly never forget when they ignored “no trespassing” signs, went fishing, and reeled in a human leg.
Informed American will keep you up-to-date on any developments to this ongoing story.
