7-year-old finds mystery item at North Shore beach

A seven-year-old P.E.I. girl in Prince County has found her most exciting piece of buried treasure yet.

Haven Shaw was metal detecting on the beach last week with her mother when she spotted something sticking out of the sand.

"I was just walking around the beach and I saw a handle and I pulled it up from under a rock, and then there it was," Shaw said. 

Shaw pulled out what she believes might be an old pitchfork.

"I thought it kind of looked like Aquaman's thingy," Shaw said. (In the 2018 superhero movie, Aquaman carries a three-pronged trident.)

"She was quite excited," said Shaw's mother Hailey Gallant. "Her mouth kind of dropped open and we sat there and discussed what it was and what it could be. It was a pretty exciting moment for us."

'It's a secret'

Gallant posted the find on Facebook and received many comments and theories about what the treasure could be. 

She said she's been contacted by a local historian who wants to see the object further to "figure out if it's something of importance, or just a pitchfork."

"I figure even if it's a pitchfork, it's got history, and that's the real treasure, right?" said Gallant.

This is most definitely the most exciting thing she's found to date.— Hailey Gallant

Shaw and her family live in West Devon, P.E.I., but she won't reveal on what exact beach she found her treasure.

"It's a secret," said Shaw. "There could be five more million treasures on that beach, so I ain't telling."

A family tradition

Shaw has been metal detecting for two or three years. 

"If we go to the beach, she always wants to take the metal detector," said Gallant. "This is most definitely the most exciting thing she's found to date."

Gallant said her parents also used to take her metal detecting at the beach when she was a child.

"It's something I'm glad to be passing on to my kids."

When asked what she would say to other kids who want to try metal detecting, Shaw said "It's always good to try, and if you don't find any treasure, don't stop until you get one."

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