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Woman who found wallet didn't hesitate on return
(by Sue Reid - September 08, 2011)
Woman who found wallet didn't hesitate on return
By SUE REID
When Twinsburg resident Leah Kleppinger saw a wallet sitting in an empty buggy during a quick shopping trip to Solon last week, she didn't give it a second thought about what she would do next, she said.
The 30-year-old mother of one, who was expecting to give birth to her second child just days later, said, when she was entering Bed, Bath and Beyond at Uptown Solon, she noticed a long, flat wallet in a buggy next to the one she was loading her son into.
It appeared to be a designer wallet, she said, and she quickly looked for signs of a license so she could return it to its owner.
What she found was a "substantial amount of money," she said. Because it wasn't hers, Mrs. Kleppinger said, she didn't even feel comfortable counting it.
"When I glanced, I saw a bunch of hundreds," she said. "I didn't sit there and count it because it wasn't my money," she said. "I knew it was a lot."
Mrs. Kleppinger immediately took it to the Solon Police Department, where it was determined that the wallet contained $4,600 cash.
"Initially, I thought that, if there was an ID, I would bring it back into the store, but because of the money, I brought it to police," she said. "I thought it would be safer that way."
Raised in Christian values and living that way, Mrs. Kleppinger said, she would never think to keep the money.
"It's not yours to keep," she said. "I don't know how someone could do that." She said her first thought was, "Someone lost this, and it needs returned."
She said she knew that the person who lost the money had to be upset.
"If that was me, I would be going into an emotional breakdown if I lost something of that value," Mrs. Kleppinger said.
She said the gentleman who owned the cash was located, and he called to say thank-you.
Police commended Mrs. Kleppinger's quick action.
"For me, it is refreshing that she was so honest and without hesitation did the right thing," Lt. Bruce Felton said.
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