What is essentially a time capsule of Bend, Instagram account Loot the Deschutes offers a look into what people have dropped in the Deschutes River. The people behind the account help people reconnect with those lost valuables.
I sat down by the river with the three friends, Miranda Eubank, Kea Eubank and Lled Smith, who started the account. The three founders started out surfing together, and after a few times of swimming around and finding items on the river floor, an idea came to mind.
“I found a gold ring with diamonds in it, and that was the trigger,” said Smith. They began posting the things they found on Craigslist. While the initial thought of returning a lost item to its rightful owner seemed far-fetched, finding the owner of a lost meaningful ring made the idea seem possible.
The group, which now has about 12 divers who look for lost items, searches the river multiple times a week, posting everything they found on Instagram. In their searches, the group has found all kinds of treasure, from WWI dog tags and guns to dentures and 30-year-old purses.
With nearly 12,000 followers, the account draws in both locals and visitors who are either looking for a dropped item, or who are simply curious about what is found. Other followers will join in on the hunt – helping locate the owner of a lost item or doing their own search of the river floor.
“I think it’s the detective in people,” said Miranda Eubank. “It’s really cool and very interactive.”
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This article appears in Best of Central Oregon 2024.
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