Published in the September, 1994, GOFC Newsletter
Grouper steal a lot of baits, and not a few rods and reels, but Gainesville angler David Tetstone was tempted to believe they stole money too.
Tetstone and his buddies were in the process of anchoring over the sunken barge some 35 miles off Cedar Key on May 21, 1994. "It was the day after my birthday, so I remember the date," Tetstone says. While paying out anchor line he leaned against the bow rail, and the pressure pushed his billfold out of his pocket. As it sank his spirits sank with it -- the billfold not only had about $200 in it, but also irreplaceable credit cards, driver's license, cherished family pictures, and other important papers.
On August 29, 1994, he had a call from Gainesville scuba diver Dexter O'Steen, who had been diving on the barge the preceding weekend. O'Steen had found the billfold on the bottom, looked around carefully, and picked up several of Tetstone's credit cards and his driver's license, but found no money.
The sunken barge is a popular spot for skin divers, and although Tetstone would like to think a grouper took the money, it is more likely that another diver had preceded O'Steen in being the first to find the billfold.
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This page last updated 3 November, 1996
Charles H. Courtney (chc@dkeep.com)