Sudbury scuba diver uncovers city’s hidden history

Call him Sudbury's answer to Jacques Cousteau.

Jay Preseau is a seasoned diver and his underwater exploits have taken him all over the region. From the Great Lakes to rivers around northeastern Ontario, diving his is passion and what he loves to do.

"The main thing I look for when I'm diving is antique bottles, artifacts, stuff like that,” Preseau said.

“Even if I don't find anything, it's just good to be out for a dive.

But it's been his interesting finds lately that have been capturing the attention of many – including one recently in the Wahnapitae River: a car from the 1960s.

He gave police a heads-up on what he found.

"Swimming along the bank and I see a window and I'm like OK that's weird and so as I'm getting closer I'm like oh there's a car,” Preseau said.

“I'm looking and like, oh please don't let there be a body in there. But there wasn't. I looked in the trunk, there wasn't anything in the trunk. I would say I was in 25 feet of water but I wasn't expecting to find it at all."

His finds have been gaining him fans from all over. In one instance, he found a man's wallet that had been there since the 1990s. He has since passed away, but Preseau was able to reunite the wallet with the man's family.

Area politicians have also been taking note of his videos. Many surprised at what he's unearthed.

"Oh absolutely – what we drop in there and trying to get it back out again,” said Ward 9 Coun. Deb McIntosh.

“I guess if you dump your canoe, in the Wahnapitae River, it's hard to retrieve things back out again."

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For his part, Preseau said he just wants to keep diving.

"I don't really have a big preference – the Wahnapitae River does have quite a bit of stuff so it's where I've been gravitating to lately,” he said.

“But pretty much where there's water, I'm sure you'll find me there eventually."