Nanaimo woman grateful to have lost wallet returned with $1,000 cash still inside

CHEK

A Nanaimo woman is counting her Thanksgiving blessings after her lost wallet was returned with a sizable amount of cash still inside.

When Chelsea Rhynold accidentally left her wallet on her car, it wasn’t until she got home that she realized it, along with money for next month’s rent, was gone.

She had just returned from a high-spirited late-night shopping trip with her roommate to Nanaimo’s Walmart when she discovered her wallet was missing. Not only did it contain all of her ID and bank cards, but $1000 in cash.

“It was a feeling like I’d never felt before, worry, sadness and a little bit of optimism. I thought somebody would’ve found it,” Rhynold told CHEK News.

It led her and her roommate into a panic search as they retraced their steps with no idea where the wallet fell off the car.

The next day, after visiting Walmart again and extensively searching during the daylight, Rhynold called Nanaimo RCMP to report it missing.

Little did she know, despite driving the route looking for her wallet, it wasn’t until part way through the next day that a good samaritan would spot it.

“It’s quite incredible to think that Dan from Nanoose, as he likes to refer to himself, saw the wallet when probably another thousand cars had passed by the exact same spot,” said Cst. Gary O’Brien with Nanaimo RCMP.

He saw what appeared to be a wallet near the centre median on Highway 19A, along the route Rhynold would’ve driven home.

Dan dropped his wife off at an appointment and returned to get the lost wallet, taking it immediately to the Nanaimo RCMP detachment.

Rhynold then got the call she didn’t expect from police.

“Yeah, that’s how the phone call went,” she said. “I’ll remember that for the rest of my life. ‘Chelsea, are you feeling lucky today?'”

She then retrieved her wallet, which had all the cash still inside. The server, who’s had some difficult customers lately, says it’s changed her perspective on people.

“I was in a place where I kind of needed that to happen. I was getting really down on people and society, so that really lifted me back up. I think it was a blessing in disguise a little bit,” said Rhynold.

“It’s just a great story and we wanted to get that out to the public to let them know that there are good people out there who are doing the right thing,” added O’Brien.

Rhynold plans to pay it forward, and she’s hoping Dan from Nanoose Bay will stop in where she works so she can treat him to a free meal.

Kendall HansonKendall Hanson

Recent Stories

Send us your news tips and videos!