BOISE, Idaho — Every year during the Boise River’s float season, dozens of people lose valuable items into the water.
River scavengers double as good samaritans when they snorkel through the water to find people’s items.
Boise native Louden Hudson learned to scuba dive when he was 14.
“Our goal is to get everything back to people,” says Hudson.
Years later, he is using his talents to help reunite people with their lost valuables. Hudson loves to help those who can’t dive down to the bottom of the river themselves.
“I do it because I love it and I would love to keep doing it anywhere I can," says Hudson. "I love to travel, so I would love to do it outside the Boise River. “
During his first dive Thursday morning, Louden only found some broken sunglasses. Then on his second time down, he ended up “bobbing for some Apples.”
“I found two apple watches!” screams Hudson, coming up for air.
Shortly after, he found a third Apple watch under Red Bridge near the Warm Springs Golf Course.
Found just a few treasures today in the #BoiseRiver ! If you lost your Apple watch by the Red Bride on Baybrook Ct, message me! #BobbingforApples https://t.co/BWC8Isplf4 pic.twitter.com/SEVaGT7ij7
— Allie Triepke (@AllieTriepke) September 14, 2023
Now it may seem like the only time to look for lost items would be towards the end of the season, when the water level has gone down. But since Hudson uses full-on scuba diving gear, he prefers the water level to be a bit higher. This means he can search for lost items all year round, every season.
At the end of August, Hudson found phones, wallets and keys for a group of river goers.
“It was pretty down, all the girls were sad to lose their phones. You know it sucks,” says Treysen Caywood, a Boise local who was floating the river with a group of friends when their tube flipped.
Hudson was able to locate them by calling one of the contacts on the lost phone.
“Like four phones, a couple of wallets, two sets of keys I think," says Caywood. "It was a pretty good amount of stuff. All the stuff you probably shouldn’t take on the river, you know? I thought it was sweet.”
If you are interested in asking Louden to help you search for a lost item, you can reach out to him on Instagram.
