Good Samaritan, Washington Twp. police help return lost $2,500 to owner

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Imagine losing $2,500 the day before you leave on vacation.

It happened to a South Jersey man who had made the withdrawal ahead of his trip to the Caribbean this month.

The envelope full of cash fell out of Norman Minor's pocket while he was running last minute errands inside of a Walmart in Turnersville.

Thinking the money was gone for good, he never reported it missing to police.

"I went to my wife and I said, 'Babe, what can I do? There's nothing I can do. I don't know where I lost it at,'" Minor said.

But a Good Samaritan found the cash and turned it over to the Walmart staff. From there, it got on police radar.

Washington Township police combed through the store's surveillance video.

"I got with Walmart lost prevention and we were able to backtrack the woman who turned in the money at the courtesy desk, and we back tracked her all the way down the aisle where she picked up the money, and then we kept going backwards and we saw Norman," Washington Township Police Detective Jason Sims said.

But they needed help identifying him. Authorities posted a surveillance image on Facebook.

Their call to action was shared 1,600 times.

"We started receiving some tips and they said 'hey, we know this guy. He's away on vacation,'" Sims said.

While in the Caribbean, Minor got some unexpected but welcoming news that the cash he dropped was found and turned over to police, restoring his faith in humanity.

"I was happy a man," Minor told Action News. "'I said 'damn! I actually got it back.'"

"It does give us hope that there are still good honest people in society, always willing to do what's right," said Chief Patrick Gursick of the Washington Township Police Department.

Minor retrieved his lost cash Tuesday and thanked the police for getting the word out.

He also couldn't say thank you enough to the Good Samaritan who found the lost envelope.

"Thank you very much. I am happy somebody found it who had the decency to turn it back in," Minor said.

Minor hopes to thank that Good Samaritan, too, in person - not only for finding the money, but for getting him out of trouble with his wife.