A Boy Fished An Old Bag Out of The Water and What He Found Inside Was Shocking

As 11-year-old Brodie hauled in the old bag, he couldn’t resist opening it up to see what was inside. He soon discovered old photos, which helped reveal the identity of the woman who once owned the purse. As Ben looked through the purse’s content, he made a stunning discovery that changed his small town forever…

It was a clear, sunny day on Lake Hartwell in Anderson, South Carolina when 11-year-old boy Brodie Brooks went fishing, as he had many times before. Lake Hartwell is a man-made reservoir known for its abundant fish population, which included species such as catfish, bream, and largemouth bass. But Brodie was about to catch something very different.

Brodie was eager to catch something big and impressive. His relative Ben enjoyed accompanying Brodie on fishing trips to Lake Hartwell and always wanted to help the young boy become better as a fisherman. The more fish Brodie caught, the more his skills and confidence levels improved. Both he and Ben might’ve had a feeling this day would be special.

As Brodie was fishing, he became panicked when he felt something big tugging at his line. In fact, the fish was so powerful and aggressive that he feared that his modest rod might snap in two. Thankfully, it held together as Brodie’s relative Ben helped him reel in whatever waited on the other end of the line.

Brodie and Ben both felt the anticipation begin to surge as they reeled in Brodie’s big catch. When fishing, there could be long periods when not much of anything happened. So when you caught something big, it was always a moment of high emotions. Both of them couldn’t wait to see what Brodie had caught.

Neither Brodie nor Ben could’ve predicted what they were about to reel in. Their discovery would help unlock a decades-old mystery and unsolved crime that would send shockwaves across their community. As they reeled in what they thought would be a massive fish, it took a moment for them to realize what they’d actually found.

“I told him, ‘You ain’t got no fish, you got a treasure,” said Brodie’s relative Ben. Soon, Brodie realized Ben was right. Brodie had reeled in an old purse. “I’ve been fishing on this lake all my life and that’s the first time I saw something be caught like this on a rod and reel,” Ben exclaimed.

Ben had been teaching Brodie how to fish for a while, and he was considered a bit of a fishing expert by some. His experience as a local familiar with both the lake and the surrounding area would prove to be absolutely critical to finding the purse and discovering its owner.

As Brodie and Ben hauled in the old purse, they couldn’t resist opening it up to see what was inside. They soon discovered old credit cards and photos, which helped reveal the identity of the woman who once owned the purse. As Ben looked through the purse’s content, he made a stunning discovery.

As Ben examined the purse’s contents, he soon realized something that would blow his mind: he knew the woman who once owned this purse. “I know this woman,” Ben said. “She’s a friend of the family. I went to school with her nephew, but I hadn’t seen her in 10 years.”

Had anyone other than Ben reeled in the purse, it’s quite possible the purse might’ve never made its way back to its original owner. Although Brodie was the one who caught the purse, he may not have been able to do it without Ben. And he definitely wouldn’t have known who the purse belonged to.

“It was pretty wild,” Ben said. “You fish up a purse for one, then you actually know whose it was. It was crazy.” It turns out the old purse belonged to a woman named April Bolt. April had lost her purse 25 years ago, when she left it on a boat during a family cookout event. Since 1992, April hadn’t seen her purse, and she had no idea what happened to it.

Because Ben recognized the name on the credit cards found inside the purse, he quickly made the connection between April and her nephew, an old classmate of his. He knew that he and Brodie couldn’t simply leave the purse at the bottom of the lake. So when they decided to return it to its rightful owner, Ben knew exactly what to do next.

Ben called up the woman’s nephew to relay the message that his aunt’s purse had been discovered. “I couldn’t believe it. I was lost for words,” April said when she found out her purse had been discovered in Lake Hartwell. “You never think you’d see it again. I knew somebody must’ve just gotten the cash out and threw it in the lake.”

April had long suspected that someone had stolen her purse, taken out all the cash inside it, and then just tossed it into Lake Hartwell. She never knew for sure if this was what had happened. In fact, until the purse was reeled in by Brodie, there had been no tangible evidence that this terrible crime had even occurred.

Nothing in April’s purse was more precious to her than the photos she had thought she’d lost of her son. When the photos were taken, her boy was only 15 months old. But when she was finally reunited with the pictures, her son was 26. “It meant the world to me,” April said when she received the old photos.

The recovery of these photos must’ve made April realized how long it had truly been since her purse had gone missing. Her son was only a baby when the purse went missing but was now a full-grown adult man when it eventually appeared at the end of Brodie’s fishing line.

April added, “I had all his photos that were professionally taken in my wallet. Back then you didn’t have your cellphone with the pictures. They have water damage but you can make him out.” One can only imagine the emotions racing through April’s mind when she saw these long-lost images.

Nothing was more important to April than finding the photos of her young son inside her purse. She had likely forgotten that the pictures even existed, having decided many years ago that they would never be recovered. Despite the surprise of her purse being discovered, nothing could compare to April’s devotion to her son.

The items inside April’s purse were shockingly well preserved, mostly because the purse had been sealed shut for the two decades it sat at the bottom of the lake. So when the purse was opened, most of the items inside were easily identifiable. Among the items recovered were lipstick, credit cards, and a comb.

April described seeing the old purse and items inside as being like discovering a time capsule from long ago. She said, “It’s quite humorous, considering the wallet, perfume, lipsticks, numerous credit cards from stores that were open 25 years ago, family pictures, 52 cents in change, a check book, a teasing comb, etc. — it’s a serious time capsule!”

When she saw all the items recovered, April couldn’t believe her eyes. “I remember being upset because my favorite lipstick was in there and the color was discontinued,” she said. “I also had this comb with a pick on the end of it. My daughter is a hairdresser and when she saw it, she was like, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me.’”

April’s daughter was shocked not just by the discovery of her mom’s purse, but also by the surprisingly good condition of the now very old comb. As a hairdresser, April’s daughter knew right away that the comb was from another era, when the fad was for women to have big hair that required a pick to maintain.

Despite the many years that had gone by, April still clearly remembered the day she lost her purse. “We were on the boat and my parents had a condo there and we were grilling burgers and we parked the boat in the slip,” she said. “I had all the baby’s stuff and I just left it on the boat covered up. There were two guys there fishing and, I hate to accuse anybody, but when we got back I was like, ‘My pocket book is gone.’”

April’s daughter once told a similar story about the purse’s disappearance, helping to corroborate her mother’s claims. According to April’s daughter, her parents docked their boat to attend a family get-together at the Hartwell Villas. Although her parents spotted a couple fishermen nearby, they figured it was okay to leave the purse aboard the boat.

Although reluctant to accuse the two men fishing of stealing her purse, April may have long suspected the men had something to do with the purse’s disappearance. But with over two decades having passed since the crime was committed, April had long since moved past worrying about the crime. But when it happened, she was certainly distraught.

When April lost her purse back in the 90s, she was completely devastated. “I was crying,” she said. “It wasn’t a whole lot of cash — maybe like $60. But a woman fits her whole life in her purse. It was devastating.” The loss of cash certainly meant a lot less to April than losing the photos of her young son.

April’s friends all seemed to have the same reaction to the miraculous discovery of her purse: there must be some greater meaning behind it. “Everyone keeps telling me, ‘There’s got to be a meaning to why you’re finding this so many years later,” she said. “I’m sure God will reveal that in time. It’s just so precious to have it back. Even the pictures, even though they’re all messed up.”

April and her friends could only speculate as to how and why April’s purse resurfaced so many years later. Perhaps it’s a question best left to theologians. But there’s little doubt that the photos of April’s son stood out as the most meaningful item recovered. In the fullness of time, perhaps April will come to understand why the photos were found so many years later.

Of course, the discovery of April’s purse is not the only news story to have occurred on Lake Hartwell, which seems to attract all sorts of odd and sometimes even tragic stories. Unfortunately, the lake is also the site of a terrible death that occurred during a particularly bad storm.

An older man was once on his boat trying to head back to his dock when he got hit by a terrible storm. As the storm disturbed the lake’s usually peaceful waters, the boat was rocked back and forth, causing the man to be tossed overboard while he was standing up.

The storm had hit Lake Hartwell quite suddenly, and many other people were quickly attempting to dock their boats and get safely ashore. As a result, some bystanders saw the old man fall into the lake. They bravely attempted to rescue him. Eventually, they were able to pull his motionless body ashore.

As the bystanders attempted to rescue the old man, others quickly called 911. The response was quick and robust. According to reports, the Anderson County Fire Department, Anderson County Fire Department Technical Rescue Team, Anderson County EMS, Medshore EMS and the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources-Law Enforcement Division were all soon on the scene.

Sadly, it was too late. The man hadn’t been wearing a life jacket and by the time he was pulled ashore, he was dead. The local coroner ruled the death an accidental drowning. The man had managed to live to the age of 69, but his relatively long life had been cut short by an unexpected storm.

Perhaps because of all the activity occurring at Lake Hartwell, local authorities recently unveiled a brand new rescue boat that they are calling “all in one.” They call it this because the boat can support fire, emergency medical services, law enforcement, HAZMAT, as well as rescue and recovery operations.

This new “all in one” rescue boat replaced an old rescue boat from 2005, a Carolina Skip flat bottom boat. The new boat has several practical advantages over the old Caroline Skip boat, such as a fold-down front gate, removable ladder, advanced GPS system, and a crane capable of holding 3,000 pounds.

Other advanced features on the new rescue boat include a 360° scene lighting system, advanced sonar equipment, and a removable fire pump capable of flowing hundreds of gallons of water per minute, equipped to support land-based firefighting operations from the water’s edge. With all of these new features, there’s no doubt the “all in one” rescue boat is superior to the old one.

Some might speculate as to whether or not this new rescue boat might’ve helped saved the old man’s life. Some might also wonder whether it could find a lost purse at the bottom of the lake, like the one April lost decades ago. In both cases, it’s difficult to know for sure if the new rescue boat would’ve been a deciding factor.

Nonetheless, as technology continues to advance, it becomes easier and easier for emergency personnel to rescue people who may fall overboard. And it will also certainly become easier to search the lake for any missing items, especially valuable ones like a purse. Perhaps a more technologically advanced rescue boat will deter more crimes and accidents in the first place.

Sometimes, even with all of the advanced technology coming to Lake Hartwell, it’s ultimately sometimes just good or bad luck that can lead to cases like the discovery of April’s old purse, or the tragic death of the old man. It was good luck that made Brodie find the purse, and it was good luck that Ben knew who it belonged to.

This good luck is ultimately what resulted in April being reunited with her purse after so many years. Perhaps in the future it will be easier to do quick searches of the lake to find lost items that might’ve fallen or been tossed in. But until then, we can only hope for good luck and more able fishermen like Brodie!