When you see a “no trespassing” sign, it’s probably a good idea to follow its advice.
You never know what might be waiting for you on the other side.
And the horrific catch this group of boys reeled in will haunt them for the rest of their lives.
Dating back thousands of years, fishing is one of the oldest human practices on record.
Archaeologists have discovered fishhooks made of bone, as well as ancient cave paintings depicting early humans fishing.
There are roughly 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 also a hobby to people all around the world.
Each year, more than 49 million people participate in recreational fishing in the United States alone.
American anglers spend about $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.
While they didn’t catch any fish, one of the boys reeled in a catch only to discover a human leg attached to his hook.
The leg still had a sock on it.
The boys immediately ran and called the police department 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 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 was involved.
But the boys will certainly never forget when they went fishing and reeled in a human leg.