9 year old boy digging for fishing worms finds handgun buried in dirt

A 9-year-old boy in Prescott found a gun buried near his house while digging for worms Monday, authorities said.

The stainless-steel, .38-caliber revolver was found with one bullet in a plastic bag just under the surface, said Ken Morley, a spokesman for the Prescott Police Department. An officer said it looked like the gun was only covered up to hide it and someone planned to get it back, Morley said.

The boy was in a grassy area near his home on Aubrey Street between Alarcon and Marina streets, Morley said.

Officers checked the serial number on the gun and it was not reported missing, Morley said. Police don’t know who owns the gun or how it ended up buried.