WINNIPEG -- A Winnipeg man's hobby has led to some unusual discoveries after he pulled up bone fragments and a knife from the bottom of the Red River.

Barna Toth said he started magnet fishing along Winnipeg's rivers during the COVID-19 pandemic as an inexpensive hobby to get outside with his family and clean up the rivers.

But last week, Toth said his hobby took a turn after he started pulling up bones.

Toth said when he first made the discovery – he thought it was a stick.

"I took a closer look at it and realized it wasn't a stick – it was a bone," he said, adding they then turned their search closer to the shoreline.

"Just looking on the shoreline we ended up finding more bones."

Toth said he has been finding bone fragments in the area while fishing in the area on three separate days. In addition to the bones, he has found a knife and a flash-bang grenade.

"I ended up calling the police and had them come down and look at the bones for us," he said.

Winnipeg police told CTV News they are not able to comment at this time, but did confirm officers initiated an investigation on Tuesday.

While it has not been confirmed – Toth said he believes some of the bone fragments may be human.

"It is actually a lot of mixed emotions – I mean you are excited to be finding something, on the other hand, you realize that this could possibly be somebody who lost their life in the river or some other means, and so it is kind of somber," he said.

"You just can't help but think what happened and what's going on. With all the missing people that we have had in this city alone – the possibilities are endless when you find stuff."

Toth said he has also found jewelry and has started a Facebook page in hopes of finding the rightful owners.

He said an earring he pulled up from the river was claimed by someone who recognized it.

Toth said he will keep searching the Red River and will continue working with the police if he finds more bone fragments.

"It's kind of nice to be able to shine some light on a situation where people might have lost hope or just had no clues."