A group of sixth graders from St. Paul's Episcopal School in Oakland experienced a little bit of magic and intrigue during a day of volunteer work yesterday. The students were out cleaning up the shoreline at Lake Merritt Thursday when they discovered two canvas sacks sunken in a few feet of water and laden with antique jewelry, gold and silver chains, watches, foreign coins and other precious metal items.

The bags were too heavy for one student to pull them out with the skimming net she was using to pick up trash, so chaperone Richard Bailey of the Lake Merritt Institute waded in to the murky waters to pick them up. The bags, one of which was labeled "Wells Fargo", were later handed over to police.

Hopefully, if no one claims the treasures, those kids can pawn them off and save their neighborhood from being turned in to another golf course for rich people.

[KTVU]