A wad of $2,600 cash lost near Capilano Mall last week has been returned to its rightful owner, but not before about 50 money-hungry contestants led RCMP call-takers in a game of Price is Right this weekend.
Unfortunately for police call takers, this weekend was like a marathon episode of the popular game show, said Sgt. Peter DeVries, spokesman for the North Vancouver RCMP, with several dozen people phoning in trying to claim the cash as theirs.
Devries said many of the callers offered fairly “weak stabs in the dark” in describing how much money was lost and where they might have lost it.
The rightful owner – a local man who lost the money near Capilano Mall – was told to come on down and claim his cash after successfully describing the amount of money, the denominations of bills and a time and place where he lost the money that matched when and where it was found.
DeVries said police were happy someone was honest enough to turn in the cash and pleased to return the money to the owner.
Less impressive were the number of people trying to claim the cash as theirs, he said.
"Did 50 people lose large sums of cash in North Vancouver recently? I don't think so," said DeVries.
It’s not the first time police have announced a pile of found cash that’s been turned in, or the first time many people have attempted to claim it.
Last June, police put out a public notice after a wallet with no identification or cards but a substantial amount of cash was found by Capilano Mall security and turned in to RCMP.
When money is turned in to police, officers attempt to locate the owner.
If nobody claims it legitimately, it is held for three months if it is valued under $5,000 and nine months if it is over $5,000. After that, provided the property is not required for the purposes of an investigation, it is turned over to the province, said DeVries.
