Thanks to the honesty of staff at a store selling second-hand clothing, an Abbotsford couple has had $6,000 in cash returned to them.
Const. Ian MacDonald said a woman reported to the Abbotsford Police Department on Tuesday that the money had gone missing and was believed to be in the pocket of her husband's jeans, which were among items she had donated to charity.
The clothing, which was placed on the couple's doorstep, was picked up by the charity on Jan. 5.
MacDonald said the pair run a legitimate business, and it's common for the husband to carry large sums of cash. The woman had not checked the pocket of the jeans when she set them aside for the donation.
The couple phoned the charity, and discovered that items collected in their neighborhood on that day and time had been distributed to a resale store in another community.
The woman then went to police, who called the store on her behalf. A staff member there confirmed that the cash has been located in the sorting area, and it had been set aside in hopes that the owner would come forward.
MacDonald said the incident clearly fits the descriptions of "honesty" and "integrity."
"It was encouraging to see that the store staff immediately identified the donation mistake and took steps to safeguard all of the money for collection by its rightful owner," he said.