VANCOUVER -- A large sum of cash found in an envelope has been returned to its rightful owner, but not before more than 50 people tried to falsely claim it belonged to them, police say.
North Vancouver RCMP say the person who lost the $2,600 in cash was able to describe the exact amount and denominations of the bills. They also were able to say where they lost it, which police say was consistent with where it was found.
But officers say they received calls from more than four dozen people pretending the money belonged to them, in what police described as a "marathon episode of The Price is Right."
"Did 50 people lose large sums of cash in North Vancouver recently? I don't think so," Sgt. Peter DeVries said in a statement.
On Wednesday, RCMP announced a "pretty big wad of cash" was found somewhere in North Vancouver and brought into the detachment by a Good Samaritan the weekend of Sept. 5.
Police didn't say how much money was found since they wanted the rightful owner to come forward with identifying details, including where it was found, the currencies and bill denominations.
"While it's disappointing to think there are people out there who might not have turned the money in, it is plain despicable to see people trying to falsely claim ownership," said DeVries.
"The person who did the right thing by turning the money in is to be commended."
Mounties say officers will try to locate the owner of property that's turned in to police. Items are held for three months if their value is less than $5,000 and nine months if they're worth more than $5,000.
If the items have still not been claimed and aren't needed for an investigation, they are turned over to the province, police say.
