A couple has found $11,000 in a bag on the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco on Valentine’s Day.
The extraordinary find took place after the couple, Carlos and Barbara Landeros, had visited the famous bridge as part of their Valentine’s Day evening before going for a romantic meal together.
The couple has described that they pulled into Vista Point, Barbara where they found a black camera bag with no owner nearby. They explained that a lot of tourists were in the area and they initially just stood guard near the bag hoping the owners would come for it soon. However, nearly an hour later the bag was still left alone.
“We wait about 45 minutes before we picked up the bag,” Barbara Landeros has said, according to NBC News. “Because we didn’t know who it belongs to.”
Barbara described how when she looked in the bag she initially saw a camera lens and some credit cards, but then suddenly saw an envelope with more than $10,000 cash in it.
Her initial reaction was one of fear: “I got nervous at first, it could be drug money. I was scared.”
The couple then performed an extraordinary act to go with their extraordinary find; they took it straight to the authorities. Not tempted to keep the massive pile of cash, the couple drove out of their way to San Francisco’s Hall Of Justice and handed the money into police.
Barbara explained that the police officer told them, “Good for you guys. I’m proud of you.”
Police reportedly used the credit cards in the bag to trace the owner, who happened to be a tourist from China, who was visiting San Francisco. The man, who wished to remain anonymous, explained that he was carrying the cash for a number of families who were all traveling together.
He described that when they posed for a group picture on the bridge he had completely forgotten to pick up his bag.
The owner explained that he was very fortunate to get the money back as he was due to leave the United States to go back to China the next day.