ROCK RAPIDS, IA (KELO) — Due to widespread flooding in southeast KELOLAND, many homeowners are now searching for personal belongings lost in the high waters. That includes a family in Rock Rapids, Iowa.
This 10-pound walleye was caught 36 years ago and prepared as a trophy, but it still holds up.
“Well, my father was a great fisherman and this was his pride and joy,” said Kim Geerdes.
It hung in her husband’s man cave for over 30 years.
But when Kim Geerdes’ house flooded over the weekend, the raging current of the Rock River swept away many of her personal belongings, including the prepared walleye.
Fortunately, a few days later, a neighbor looking for her mother’s personal belongings saw some of them hanging from tree branches.
“Then I wondered what was in the next tree and I found a huge fish tail and of course I couldn’t grab it,” said Laura Sandbulte.
So she asked her mother to get it and found that it belonged to someone.
At first they thought it was a fish from the nearby Rock River.
However, she later learned that it had been installed because of this plaque and knew that it belonged to her neighbor.
“It surprised me that they showed up. We were visiting friends and they showed up last night and that really shocked me,” Geerdes said.
Kim Geerdes was grateful to get the fish back.
“I don’t have many physical memories of my dad, so getting it back means a lot to me,” Geerdes said.
Now that they have the fish back, the question is: what will they do with it? Kim’s house was badly damaged in the flood.
“She’s going to the camp until we know where we’re going to live next,” Geerdes said.
Until then, they can tell their grandchildren the story of the one fish that didn’t escape.
Geerdes’ house was just one of many affected by the flood.
