VANCOUVER -- Staff at a Vancouver Value Village were dumfounded this week when they discovered a donated bag containing a large sum of cash that was accidentally included.
Store manager Jeffrey Stonehouse said as soon as the money was found, their company policy required them to tally it and call police.
“It was in excess of $85,000,” Stonehouse said, explaining usually when cash is found within donated clothing, it doesn’t add up to more than pocket change.
He said the money was in the form of very old bills, the most recent of which was from 1988.
Stonehouse also said that with the cash there were documents that pointed back to the presumed owner.
“We partnered up with the Vancouver Police Department and based on what we provided them they were able to find the owner of the money,” Stonehouse said.
Vancouver police told CTV News Vancouver the money was apparently stashed away at least 25 years ago by an elderly woman who recently moved to a care home.
"Her family was cleaning out an old storage locker and decided to donate some items to the thrift store when they unknowingly donated a bag containing the cash," police said in an emailed statement.
"The family is in the process of determining power of attorney. The cash will be returned to the family once that is sorted out."
