Shawn Finds Wallet Loaded With Cash, Stalks Owner To Return It
It’s not every day you see a dollar in the street. It’s certainly less common to find a wallet in the street. Then to have that wallet have over $400 in it, and no legal ID. That’s the bad luck a formerly wallet-carrying person named Ariel had, and the dumb luck I had while leaving Lee Canyon on Tuesday. Could I return it without an ID?
After a fun trip to the mountain with my boys, we were driving out of the resort on Mount Charleston when I spotted something. I looked in his rear view. “I think that’s a wallet,” I said. I drove back around the traffic circle to get a better look at it. Sure as can be… it was a wallet.
What was inside the wallet, and can I return it?
Of course, the first thing you should do is to rifle through someone’s personal belongings to see if there is a driver’s license or something. Inside, I found everything but. There were players cards from South Point, Rampart and other casinos, a debit card, a Medicare card… but no ID. There was however plenty of money. Over $400.
I took some clues from within the wallet to try to figure out who “Ariel” was (full name redacted). The Medicare card meant he or she was over 65, and that card featured a middle initial.
How did Shawn start his hunt for the owner of the wallet to return it?
With no reception, I drove back around to Lee Canyon to get Wi-Fi and potentially find Ariel on one of the many public records information websites. We won’t link them here but they are incredibly creepy. Thankfully in this case it was used for good, not evil. Eventually, I came across someone over 65 with the exact full name. It was a man named Ariel who lived in the valley.
So I called the phone number listed and it went straight to voicemail. Maybe he was still on the mountain and without reception? Left a voicemail, then decided to stop by the address of a total stranger. With my kids. What a dope. But I am convinced I need all the good karma I can get and wanted to get the job done. After all, if this was my wallet, I’d be so mad at myself.
Swing and a miss
Once I got to Ariel’s house, the odds were against me. Locked gate, security cameras and no one answering the door. I posed with the wallet in front of the camera… nothing. So, I slunk home, unable to show my kids a happy ending. My youngest son Mario was probably pumped about this. The 4-year-old suggested we keep the money. 6-year-old Colin saw the lesson I was trying to teach though.
Gotta keep my eyes on Mario. He is a lawsuit waiting to happen.
Dust yourself off and try again
After talking about the missing wallet on Wednesday’s show, I decided to give Ariel a buzz again. Two voicemails and a text and no response. This time… we hit pay dirt!
Ariel answered… suspect at first! But eventually he realized I was calling with something of his. Turns out Ariel, a 69 year old man, was going around Mount Charleston on a bike when the wallet fell out of his pants. Wallet aside, to have the energy to bike around the mountain at 69 is amazing. I’m 39 and I couldn’t do it.
Soon after we talked to him on air he was in the lobby with his lovely wife Darlene. Darlene told me about a missing wallet they had found in New Mexico a while back while driving an RV back to Vegas from Texas. They did the right thing and helped them get their wallet back.
Good karma can go a long way.
