Couple Finds $11,000, Returns Money To Owners On Valentine’s Day

What would you do if you found $11,000? A couple in California had to ask themselves that question when they found a bag filled with money near the Golden Gate Bridge during a romantic Valentine’s Day night.

The couple had a choice: They could either try to locate the owner. Or they could take the money and treat themselves to a luxurious Valentine’s Day.

According to the Slideshow, Carlos and Barbara Landeros were walking around San Francisco when they spotted an abandoned camera bag. The couple, sure that the owner would return, stopped and watched the bag for about 45 minutes to make sure that it wasn’t stolen. When the owner never returned they went over and opened the bag in order to find some ID.

What they found was credit cards, camera equipment, and $11,000 in cash.

Barbara told NBC: “We wait about 45 minutes before we picked up the bag because we didn’t know who it belongs to. I got nervous at first, it could be drug money. I was scared.”

The night was wasting away but the couple knew that they had to try to return the bag. So Carlos and Barbara cancelled their dinner reservations, headed down to the police station, and spent their Valentine’s Day filling out paper work. When their good deed was over, they traveled back across the Golden Gate Bridge and had a romantic meal at McDonald’s.

But don’t worry, this story has a happy ending.

Detectives were able to track down Mark, a Chinese tourist, who had lost his bag earlier that day. Mark said the money in his bag belonged to several different people who were all traveling together in California.

Mark said: “I think somebody who pick it up and return it … it really is someone very, very kind in heart.”

Mark said that he tracked down Barbara and Carlos and mailed them a check as a reward. Hopefully, the kindhearted California couple can use the money for Valentine’s Day round two.