A former professional boxer turned diving treasure hunter who has found drugs, guns and a Victorian casserole dish on his expeditions said there is nowhere as interesting as the bottom of a lake.
A professional boxer for more than five years, Mike McGoldrick, 40, from Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria has had a passion for diving since he was 13 years old.
Fearing that too many punches would damage his eardrums, ruining his ability to dive, Mike hung up his gloves in 2022.
Shortly after, he began free diving in the Lake District’s lakes and in 2023 he found an iPhone in Lake Coniston.
Remarkably, it still worked and he was able to track down the owner, launching his career as a treasure hunter.
Since then, Mike has found a range of curiosities, from artefacts hundreds of years old, to class A drugs, a live grenade and even an urn containing someone’s ashes – which he immediately returned to the water.
“I’ve travelled all over the world,” Mike told PA Real Life, “from the Himalayas to the Namibian desert – but nowhere feels as exciting as the bottom of these lakes.
“It feels like genuine exploring. No one else gets to see this.”
Having turned professional aged 30, he fought in several televised fights and even competed for a regional title.
However, since the age of 13, Mike has had a passion for diving. It began on a holiday in Spain, when his dad bribed an instructor to let the underage Mike try it.
“I absolutely loved it, and I’ve absolutely loved it ever since,” he said.
Mike continued diving while boxing, however, he suffered several perforated eardrums while taking part in the sport thanks to taking punches.
Although he wore special earplugs while boxing, he soon realised that he was at risk of losing the ability to dive, so in 2022 he hung up his gloves to focus on his true passion.
Although Mike is a qualified scuba diver, in 2023 he took a free-diving course because he had heard it was a more effective way to get close to marine wildlife.
Shortly after, while practising his technique in Lake Coniston in the Lake District, he found an iPhone at the bottom of the lake.
It still worked, and after recharging it at home, he tracked down the owner and returned it to her.
“That gave her quite a surprise,” Mike said.
“I don’t think she ever expected to see it again but she was gutted to have lost it, so was really pleased.”
Since then, Mike has found many phones and gadgets and has been able to return several of them still in working order.
Although he does go in search of lost items on request, he refuses to be paid for the service.
“I do it because I love it,” he said. “If I start accepting payment, it becomes a job and I don’t want that.”
Free diving can be extremely dangerous and it is recommended never to do it alone.
Mike, however, regularly takes the risk, ensuring that he does not go deeper than 10 metres, or hold his breath for much longer than a minute, although he can hold it for more than four.
Mike loves being at the bottom of the lake, saying it is a unique feeling. Having travelled all over the world, he says there is nowhere as interesting as the bottom of a lake.
“10 metres down, it is pitch black,” he said. “It’s eerie but exciting.”
Finding artefacts that are hundreds of years old is also a thrill and makes Mike wonder how they got there and what kind of life they led.
“The other day I found a Victorian casserole dish and I thought, what was going on that a casserole dish ended up in the middle of a lake?” he said.
Recently Mike found a discarded hard drive which had appeared to have been purposefully disposed of.
Unfortunately, it was too damaged to access so the police suggested throwing it away, which Mike did.
Mike has also found class A drugs, a live grenade and pistols from the Second World War.
He said his most peculiar find was what looked like a model of a Viking longboat which he presumed must have been an unsuccessful part of a school project.
However, after getting it home and examining it properly, Mike realised that it was half an urn and it still contained remnants of someone’s ashes – he duly returned it to the lake.
“My wife was terrified the house would become haunted!” he said.
Mike says the most rewarding part is seeing the lakes change through the seasons.
He loves watching the tadpoles spawn and turn into frogs and seeing the colour of the water change.
He has also found he is in high demand among fishermen who ask him if he has seen any fish on his expeditions and inquire as to where they might cast their rods.
Mike currently has some recently salvaged AirPods in his house. Although they work and he can see that they are emitting a signal, he can only wait until the owner finds them on Find My Phone and comes to claim them.
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