For many, snorkeling is an enjoyable pastime and has resulted in quite the spectacular sights. However, when one snorkeler was exploring the bottom of the Colorado River, he made a discovery so startling that he immediately called the police.
The incident took place when Martin Sholl was snorkeling and found what appeared to be two skeletons strapped to a set of chairs sitting on the river bottom in Parker, Arizona. As one would imagine, his swim was cut short when the terrified man rose to the surface. Because the discovery scared him so much, Sholl ended up calling the police to investigate rather than looking into it on his own.
The La Paz County Sheriff’s Office responded to the report of “found human remains” in the Colorado River in the area of Cienega Springs’ boat launch. Sholl stated that he was out snorkeling when he noticed skeletal remains at the bottom of the river, AZ Central reported.
Police dispatched a diver from the Buckskin Fire Department who went down to investigate what the snorkeler had said was down below. However, upon closer examination, the investigative diver realized that it wasn’t actually a crime scene at all. This was a prank, not a grave discovery of two people who suffered an untimely death. The skeletons were fake.
La Paz County Sheriff’s Office personnel met with members of the fire department who sent one of their divers down to investigate. The diver took an underwater camera and recorded the footage as he saw it. When the alleged remains were located, the diver found it to be an underwater tea-party with two fake skeletons sitting in lawn chairs.
As it turns out, the props had sunglasses, were having a cup of tea, and had apparently been there for quite some time. Both of the skeletons and the lawn chairs were covered in algae and debris, but there was a sign that was covered as well, The Oregonian reported.
“Skeleton tea party,” Martin Sholl said. “It was funny. The next day when my friend called and told me that the chaos I created was on every morning show in the country, I was shocked.”
The diver wiped off the sign, revealing it to read, “Bernie living the dream in the river.” We can only assume this is a reference to the movie Weekend At Bernie’s. In the 1989 film, the two main characters lug around their dead boss for days, losing and recovering his body several times. At one point in the film, Bernie’s corpse falls off a boat and into the water.
The La Paz Sheriff’s Department later posted the video to their Facebook page with a description reading, “Although the call itself was resource intensive, both the Sheriff’s Office and Buckskin Fire were happy to find that the remains weren’t real and thanked the reporting party for making the call.”
Although it resulted in a complete waste of resources, this is a pretty hilarious and elaborate joke that someone decided to play. I can only imagine how scared the snorkeler was when they came across the two fake skeletons sitting in lawn chairs having a tea party. The Sheriff’s Department has decided not to pursue the person behind this prank, proving they do have a sense of humor.
