Money returned, heart is melted

By BRIAN WALKER

Hagadone News Network

POST FALLS — A Post Falls man couldn’t believe his eyes when he opened a purse he’d just purchased as a gag gift.

When he went to wrap the purse on Friday, there was an unsealed envelope with $900 cash, a bank card and statement, and photographs of children inside.

"It was an awkward moment and I wondered how it had gotten into the purse," said the 63-year-old man, adding that he contacted police immediately. "I just left it in the police’s hands (to find the person the items belonged to)."

It turns out that a Post Falls woman had reported to police on Dec. 13 that she was missing the items. After Post Falls Police Officer Todd Flood knocked on her apartment door with the items and no one answered, a neighbor flagged him down to tell him she’d recently been checked in to a local Hospice facility.

"I started to call around to all the different Hospice agencies and I was finally able to confirm which one she was in," Flood said.

When Flood presented the items to the woman, she was "a very happy lady," he said.

"She was extremely grateful and started to get very emotional," Flood said.

"She said it was all the money she had and she’s living on Social Security. It was a wonderful thing to happen to her during the holidays.

"Even though she’s not physically strong enough to get around on her own, she said, ‘I don’t care what you say, you’re getting a hug.’"

Flood said the woman called police on Dec. 13 to report the missing money while she was in the Walmart on Mullan Avenue — where the man who found it later purchased the purse. However, Flood said, through speaking with the woman, it remains unknown exactly why the items were placed in the purse.

"It appears the owner maybe just got distracted while shopping and absent-mindedly placed the money in the wrong purse, then did not purchase the purse and placed it back on the shelf," a police employee wrote online.

The man who found the items wishes to remain anonymous because he doesn’t want the woman or her relatives to feel compelled to give him something in return.

"That’s not why I returned (the items), so I want to remain as silent as I can," he told The Press.

The man said he had a similar incident happen to him while attending college.

"I had a wad of money and no pockets, so I stuffed it in my shoe," he said. "When I went shopping and didn’t have the money, I freaked out so I went back to the front desk (of the store) and they had it. What goes around comes around."

The man said he had no temptations to hold onto the money.

"I’m strong in that area; it never entered my mind," he said. "I was blessed to do the right thing."

The police department was impressed with the man’s honesty.

"Thank you to this kind citizen for allowing us to return these items and make someone's Christmas a little brighter," an online comment states.

"You are appreciated and you make us proud to serve you."