Lost and found: Woman reunited with student ID 41 years later

Lost and found: Woman reunited with student ID 41 years later
Photos courtesy Nanaimo RCMP
A Nanaimo resident found a buried purse when he was digging a hole for a fence post, and when police looked inside found a student ID from 1981.

Most people know losing a wallet or purse can be a total nightmare and replacing all that lost ID can take a lifetime.

So when police phoned Lori, who lives south of Nanaimo that they had found her student ID, she thought it was someone playing a prank on her.

It had been 41 years since she last saw the student identification given to her at Wellington Junior Secondary School, so long in fact that the school is now called Wellington Secondary School.

It all started when a Nanaimo resident was digging a hole for a fence post in his Uplands Drive home. He noticed a small crevice on a rock ledge near where he was digging and decided to take a closer look.

Inside the hole, a dilapidated old purse — but inside that? A well-preserved student ID of a woman he had never seen before.

Thinking it might be a clue in a missing persons investigation, he turned it over to RCMP.

Authorities managed to track down Lori and sent her an image of the old card to see if she’d recognize it.

That night Lori, the owner of the card, was notified by police of the discovery. She was initially skeptical but after a picture of the ID was emailed to her she was able to confirm it belonged to her.

“I’m thinking the purse had probably been stolen and the thief had dumped it in the hole. Over the years, I probably just forgot about it,” she said.

After 41 years, the purse was crumbling — but preserved inside was a keepsake from someone’s youth.

Roger CollinsRoger Collins

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