THEY could have spent it all on a shopping spree or a luxury holiday – after all, many of us would.
But when a British couple found a rucksack carrying a tempting €3,800 in €50 notes, they did the honest thing and handed it straight to police.
The pair were holidaying in Manilva with their children when they came across the lost bag, which also contained bank statements and other documents.
“They didn’t leave their names. They just handed the bag in and left,” said a spokesman at Manilva police station.
The police were later able to track down the rucksack’s rather careless owner to Sabinillas.
Well, if the bag containing the money had documents pointing to the owner, the money should be returned, definitely. But if you find a bag full of money with no name and no address, what I would do would be to keep a real, sincere, good lookout for any news of the loss of that money in press, tv, bars, restaurants or neighbour’s tittle tattle where you found it for about six months or so. If none are heard or seen…well then I would say finder’s keepers, unless you were sure to be provided with a receipt of the bag and its contents which would be normally (I think) returned to you after a stipulated period of time if nobody has claimed it. Not sure how the law in Spain stands about that process which is what’s done in some countries.
In any case congratulations to the decent couple who returned the money (not everybody would) and the Manilva Police for their professionalism. The owner must have been over the moon to have it returned. Hope he/she invited the couple to dinner, at the very least.