Police dive team finds gun in Taunton lake after years of searching. How it got there

TAUNTON — People driving by wondering why law enforcement were seen diving into Lake Rico in Massasoit State Park early this morning can be breath a sigh of relief knowing it wasn’t for any tragic reason.

Members of the Southeastern Massachusetts Law Enforcement Council (SEMLEC) Dive Team Unit were retrieving a shotgun dropped in the water by a bird hunter, said Taunton Police spokesperson Lt. Glen Jackson.

The kicker is it was from a kayak boat that, Jackson said, capsized all the way back in 2017.

"The boat flipped over. The guy lost everything in the water," said Jackson.

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Jackson, who is also head of Taunton's Dive Team Unit, said over the years they've tried retrieving the shotgun with no success.

He said SEMLEC thought looking for the shotgun again would make a good challenge and training exercise.

Five members of the SEMLEC Dive Team — including members from Taunton, New Bedford, Lakeville and Dartmouth — were present this morning, starting at 9 a.m., looking for that shotgun.

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They finally found it at around 10 a.m.

Jackson couldn't divulge the name of the owner, but he said he was contacted and was "thrilled" to hear he's getting his gun back, even though it's useless now after sitting on the lake floor for seven years.

This article originally appeared on The Taunton Daily Gazette: SEMLEC Dive Team finds gun in Lake Rico in Taunton. How it got there