Camille Charron prepares to dive into the Okanagan River Channel in Osoyoos.

Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Camille Charron

A semi-retired scuba diver in Osoyoos has been hunting for treasures in Osoyoos Lake and the Okanagan River Channel this summer, and so far, he’s found a wide assortment of items.

Camille Charron lives in the Lower Mainland but has spent years of summers at his vacation home in Osoyoos, and this summer he has taken on a new hobby that is full of surprises.

“I learned to dive back in the 80s but no longer want to do deep dives,” he said. “I just want to have fun searching for treasures.”

The hobby has quickly turned into picking up garbage, especially sharp pieces, and finding and returning lost items to owners. Passersby are starting to recognize Charron as the local diver and children are approaching him to see what treasures he is pulling up.

“I really wasn’t looking for attention, I really enjoy looking for treasures,” he said. “Little kids come up to me and I’m thinking it might pique their interest in diving and cleaning up the garbage from lakes and rivers.”

Charron drags a floating air generator with him that allows him to stay underwater for up to three hours at a time, and a plastic bin with pool noodles around the edges to drop sharp pieces of trash into. He has an underwater metal detector and a hand device that pinpoints where the finds are.

“The equipment is working really good, but I have to thank my wife, this stuff isn’t cheap.”

This garbage was collected from a scuba diver in Osoyoos Lake.

Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Camille Charron

So far, Charron has found goggles, sunglasses, coins, a walkie talkie, fishing lures and lots of garbage.

Recently he found several Apple products and was able to find the owners of two of them. In one case, it was an Apple Watch.

“If you want me to get it back to you, you have to put medical emergency contact information in it, Apple won’t help me find you," he says.

In the second instance, a resident contacted Charron asking him to retrieve her son’s Apple phone and he was able to find it. She was able to provide the pin number to confirm it was his.

“My first goal is to return these items to people whenever I can, I think I enjoy finding and returning items as much as they enjoy getting them back.”

While Charron is on the lookout for gold, jewellery and other potentially valuable treasures, if he finds any jewellery with an inscription on it, he will try to find the owner.

“In the past when people have found valuable items of mine and returned it, it was a good feeling and I want to give that back,” he said.

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Some of the garbage he finds is dangerous.

“When a can gets into the sand and starts sinking it will decompose and come back to the surface disintegrated with sharp edges. There is broken glass and broken bottles, I’d hate for someone to touch their feet to the bottom and get cut.”

Many pairs of sunglasses were retrieved by a scuba diver by Osoyoos Lake.

Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Camille Charron

Charron is getting direct messages asking if he can find things. While his first intention is to have fun, he will continue to remove garbage and try his best to return valuable items.

“I don’t want kids getting hurt having fun on their summer vacation,” he said.

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Charron heads out early before boats start going back and forth. He drags behind him an international diving flag and diving signs to let the public know he is in the water.

“I love imagining what’s in the water, and going in and looking around. I see lots of fish. Bass will come right up and flutter their fins, I don’t like them coming up behind me and scaring me.” 

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