Divers come across handgun in Deschutes River

Some Bend divers who frequently scour the bottom of the Deschutes River for trash, lost objects or other interesting objects found a definite item of interest this week: a rusty, corroded handgun on the river bottom.

The divers, who go by the Instagram username ” Loot The Deschutes, ” typically find cell phones, sunglasses, wedding bands and the like.

The gun turned up Tuesday on their first trip to Pioneer Park.

They said they turned it over to the Bend Police Department and hope it might help in some investigation.

” We’re hoping that it could possibly lead to closure for somebody, or solve a case, ” diver Kea Eubank said Wednesday.

The gun is a Smith and Wesson, but the year manufactured is unknown.

Loot The Deschutes diver Miranda Campbell said she had a feeling they might find something unusual.

” I thought we were finding a gun yesterday, ” Campbell said. ” When we first got in the water and found the cash box, I just got the vibe under the water and under the bridge. I was like, ‘We are finding a gun today’. ”

The divers created their Instagram account in April of this year to help people find things they had lost on the river.

Although they have returned lost items to people, most of the time they are just finding trash.

“Well, we are really stoked that this could possibly spread awareness about keeping the rivers clean,” Eubank said. “So for the kids out there, we are really just glad we could spread awareness about cleaning the environment and river safety overall.”

In July, NewsChannel 21 reported that a group of volunteers helped clean the Deschutes River. During the cleanup, volunteers found more than 1,300 pounds of trash. That included aluminum cans, electronic devices, glass bottles and more.