April 2017
On a typical Saturday in April 2017, a family was driving along East Wilson Bridge Road in Worthington, Ohio. The family was enjoying an outing in the park, and they saw something that changed the course of their day. When this guy found a bag dumped by the road, what was inside it sent him directly to the police.
Worthington
Worthington is a suburb of Columbus, Ohio. It is located 550 miles from New York with a population of 13,500. People love this town for its family atmosphere. It is a very charming town that was founded in 1803. If you take a walk down High Street, you will see elegant homes from the 19th century. If you are looking for excitement, you likely won’t find it in Worthington. The biggest thing to happen in this town in years was the opening of a new pizza parlor in June 2017. On opening day, they offered free pizza all day with the topping of your choice. That was the most excitement the town had in years. The people who live there are perfectly fine with that.
The Bowers
The Bower family lives in Worthington, and they love their town. Jake, his wife, Tara, and their children often enjoyed outings in their little town. One Saturday in April 2017, they were driving down the street. They were traveling along East Wilson Bridge Road just past the intersection with Worthington Galena Road. While Jake was driving, Tara told him to turn around. She had seen something in the road and wanted to see what it was.
Pulling Over
Jake turned around, and he pulled over when he saw a blue felt bag on the side of the road. He assumed that someone had left it on the roof of their car before taking off. His initial thought was that the bag contained a laptop. He curiosity got the best of him, and he decided to open up the bag.
Opening Up the Bag
Jake opened the bag, and inside there was a wallet with an ID inside. There were also envelopes in the bag, and they were stuffed with $100 bills. Jake counted 140 bills, totaling $14,000. Jake couldn’t believe that someone had been so careless by losing the bag. Sure, $14,000 wouldn’t set a person up for life, but it would make a difference in anyone’s life. Jake thought about all of the times that he dreamed of finding a bag full of money. When it actually happened, he was tempted to keep it but he knew that it was morally wrong. Jake and his family knew what the money could do for them. They could pay off their car loan or they could take a vacation. This would have been great but the money could also have been used to buy groceries for the owner or to pay their rent. It wasn’t their money and there was only one thing to do.
Making a Decision
Jake and his family didn’t need to think too hard about what they should do with the money. They knew that they couldn’t keep it, so they decided to head to the Worthington Police Station. It wasn’t far from the street that they were traveling on so they took the bag and it was the right thing to do.
Not a Daily Occurrence
Sergeant James Moran of the Worthington Police Department was shocked when he saw the bag full of money. It isn’t every day that someone walks into the police department to turn in $14,000. It didn’t take long for the officer to figure out who owned the bag since there was identification inside. The owner of the bag lived in Marion, which was a 50-minute drive from Worthington. It turned out that the owner of the bag had gone to a car dealership with the intention of buying a new car with cash. He couldn’t find a car that he wanted, so he headed home. Before getting in the car, he put the bag on the room and must have forgotten it. When he went back to the car lot, they told him that he didn’t have it. He panicked.
Doing the Right Thing
When Jake found out what the owner of the bag was planning to use the money for, he was glad that they decided to return it. This person was just trying to buy a car when they lost the bag. Had the Bowers kept the money, the owner of the bag would never have been able to buy their new car.
A Teaching Moment
Jake and Tara were thrilled that their kids were in the car with them when they found the bag. When the kids saw the money in the bag, they were just as excited as Jake and Tara. They decided to use this as a teaching moment for their children. They explained to their kids that the money didn’t belong to them and it wasn’t right to keep it. They allowed the kids to go into the police station with them so that they could learn about doing the right thing.
A Happy Ending
Thanks to the Bower family, this story had a happy ending. The owner of the bag as able to get their money back so that they could buy their new car. The Bower family was able to go home at the end of the day knowing that they had done the right thing. Jake says that he is glad that he listened to Tara and turned around to check out the bag. If someone else had picked up the bag, they might not have been so honest.
