Money is falling from the trees in North Vancouver, almost literally.
For the third time in a month, a citizen has turned in a mysterious wad of cash to police. This time, a North Vancouver man out hiking with his wife on Tuesday came across an envelope containing what police describe as a “considerable amount of cash” lying in the middle of a trail.
“He literally had to step over it,” said Cpl. Richard de Jong, spokesman for the North Vancouver RCMP.
Police won’t say how much cash was found or reveal which trail it was found on. But de Jong said there was a name written on the white envelope.
Anyone missing their money who can identify where it was found and the name written on the envelope can claim their cash at the North Vancouver RCMP detachment.
The discovery of the cash is the third time in recent weeks that citizens have turned in money to police.
In the last incident, two weeks ago, another North Vancouver man was walking down the street in a well-known business district when he stumbled across a substantial amount of money lying on the sidewalk. He turned it in to police. Two weeks earlier, a woman on her lunch break found $200 in $20 bills hanging out of a bank machine and turned it in. In that case, the bank was able to track down the rightful owner.
But so far nobody has come forward to claim the last two piles of cash.
De Jong said he doesn’t have an explanation for why money keeps mysteriously turning up in public. “I don’t think North Vancouver in particular has more cash lost than other communities,” he said. De Jong said it might mean communities on the North Shore have more honest people in their ranks. “If you lost money or a wallet you’d certainly want somebody to turn it in,” he said.
He added that while cash is less common than it used to be, some people still use it for everything from rent to large purchases. Police also haven’t ruled out the possibility that the mysterious piles of cash were part of illegal transactions. “We’re exploring all options,” he said.
If nobody comes forward to claim the cash, the person who found it is legally entitled to it after 90 days.
