‘Keep digging!’ Cache of guns found buried in Arizona yard sparks an online mystery

A strange kind of treasure turned up in an Arizona yard after a family found a cache of automatic weapons buried next to their garden wall.

It happened when the homeowners in the West Valley home were digging a hole for a tree, the Phoenix Police Department wrote Feb. 23 on Facebook.

“Imagine their surprise when they found a (duffel) bag, opened it up, and saw rusted rifles and handguns. They called #PHXPD and turned them over to detectives, who will investigate if these firearms were used in any crimes.”

The post has since received around 4,000 reactions, shares and comments, including people who note the family was lucky it wasn’t a grave.

Others insisted there has got to be money hidden somewhere on the property.

“Keep digging,” one woman advised on Facebook.

“I’d be out there with a metal detector!” one man added.

“Better check the walls in the house now,” another said.

Photos shared by police show the black and green bag was buried in a shallow grave next to a concrete wall. Inside were at least four machine guns and a dozen magazines of ammunition, all showing various degrees of rusting.

The family declined interviews with local media, but TV station KPHO/KTVK reports they moved in about four years ago, after the former rental property sat vacant for a year.

“It’s kind of nerve wrecking,” neighbor Yajira Enriquez told station Fox 10. “Why they decided to bury them? They obviously didn’t expect somebody to dig and find them.”

The Facebook post came just one day after the department reported another strange find — this one involving a family that discovered 5,000 fentanyl pills hidden inside a doll purchased at a local thrift store.

This story was originally published February 25, 2021 at 8:05 AM with the headline "‘Keep digging!’ Cache of guns found buried in Arizona yard sparks an online mystery."