When you head out for a day of fishing, you expect to pull up a tuna, salmon, or another type of, well, fish. However, 14-year-old Connor Halsa didn’t manage to grab any sea life. Instead, his line hooked onto a wallet containing $2,000 cash. While most kids his age would think, “Hey, free money!” (and who could blame them!), Connor decided to track down the wallet’s owner to return the money where it belonged.
- Connor and his family were fishing at Lake of the Woods in Minnesota. Talking to ABC affiliate WDAY-TV, Connor recalled dragging the wallet to the surface and showing it to his cousin, who couldn’t believe what Connor had found. “My cousin opened the wallet up, and he said some words you probably shouldn’t say, and he showed everyone,” the high school freshman recalled.
- The wallet contained $2,000 in cold hard cash. The bills were in $100, $50, $20, and $1 notes, all totaling a pretty impressive some of money. However, that’s not all that was in the wallet. It also contained a business card with a telephone number.
- Connor’s dad encouraged his son to do the right thing. However, it didn’t take much convincing, as he was already thinking the same thing. “We didn’t work hard for the money, he did, so it was his money,” Connor told ABC.
- Eventually, Connor and his family tracked down the owner of the wallet. It was Jim Denney of Iowa, who’d been fishing with his own family a year prior when he lost his wallet. He was overjoyed to receive the call that it had been found — complete with all of his money!
- Denney went out to meet Connor Halsa and his family. He even tried to offer them some of the money for their honesty, but they refused. They were simply happy to have it back where it belonged.
- Connor was gifted a new cooler from Denney. This way, he can take it on future fishing trips at the lake. Denney told ABC that he “would take Connor as a grandson any day.” Unsurprising, given the incredibly honest and upstanding gesture he made in returning the wallet. Not many would do that!
- Jim Denney couldn’t believe the wallet had been returned. He’d pretty much written the whole thing off, especially after so much time. Talking to WDAY-TV after he was reunited with the wallet and cash, he said, “I have the billfold in my hands, and it is still hard to believe.”
