Found A Wallet...Turned It In To Police...NIGHTMARE!

[Indianhead Jones]

We here in this forum are always returning found items if the owners can be tracked down, and I've certainly returned my share, but never with so much inconvenience and trouble as I experienced a few weeks ago at the local police station....here's the story.

I found a wallet in my neighborhood...$22.00 in U.S. cash, some Argentinian currency, but no driver's license nor other clues as to who the owner might be. It did contain a Social Security card, a "green card" and a couple of scraps of paper with local phone numbers, which I called, but the people who answered were non-English speaking, and they just said "No...no" when I gave them the name on the green card...they didn't understand at all what the calls were about.

I checked the houses on both sides of the streets where I found the wallet, but had no luck. I went online and tried the person's name in the white pages...checked with Directory Assistance on the phone, etc. etc....still no luck.

The next day I made the 25-minute walk to the police station (my car was not running at the time) to turn in the wallet, with no idea what I was about to go through!

I waited 15 minutes for the person ahead of me to finish his business with the officer at the desk, and when it was my turn, I handed over the wallet, explained where I found it, and related how I tried to find the owner myself.

The officer asked me for my identification for the report, and I handed him my driver's license, which, for some reason, he ran through the computer. He then told me that he had 3 different addresses in my name, and asked me why. I explained that I had moved twice, and had notified the post offices and the Registry of Motor Vehicles each time, and didn't know why the old ones were still in the computer records. Well....he proceeds to go through and correct my address, remove the old ones, etc. etc. which took another 10 minutes or so. (understandable) He then told me that another officer would fill out a report form for the wallet, and could I please be patient, and I reluctantly agreed.

He then begins calling the numbers found in the wallet with the same results as I had, then calls over another officer and shows him the Social Security card, who in turn shows it to two other officers. Turns out was a fake. I'm still standing there waiting and waiting to get out of there. In the meantime ANOTHER guy comes in with a wallet HE found, and the officer has him....now get this....jot his name and phone number down, which he does....the officer thanks him, and the guy leaves!!

All the while this is going on, the officer I'm dealing with has to constantly stop to answer the phone, field questions from others in the station, etc. etc.

FINALLY...one hour and five minutes since I walked in...the officer says the other guy who is supposed to fill out the found property report is still busy, so now I can leave after giving him my phone number so that they can reach me in case there are any other questions about the wallet!

I couldn't believe what I had walked into, and how much time and trouble I had to go through to get a stranger back his wallet....I think an hour and five minutes is just too long to be kept waiting....maybe next time I'll just open the door, throw the wallet at them....and run!

Larry G.

 

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[GopherDaGold]

That's ridiculous! Especially after the second guy didn't go through the crap you went through. I would have turned around and walked out after sarcastically explaining that you took time out of your day to WALK to the station to be a good citizen.

Just goes to show how inept most cops really are.

 

[Indianhead Jones]

That's ridiculous! Especially after the second guy didn't go through the crap you went through. I would have turned around and walked out after sarcastically explaining that you took time out of your day to WALK to the station to be a good citizen.

Just goes to show how inept most cops really are.

Exactly, Gopher...I did ask the desk officer why the other guy was allowed to just drop it off, leave his name and phone number and leave, he stated "It wasn't necessary to file a found property report for that one". ?

Larry G.

 

[Coin Digger]

I've always found cops to be a pain to deal with on anything.

Next time just drop the wallet in a mail box.

 

[pganjon]

Hello, I hate to say it, but I went through something similar. My wife and I were driving up the road and their was a wallet and a cell phone lying on the double yellow lines. I stopped, picked it up and read the address on the license. Was the house to my right, so I pulled in the driveway, rang the bell and no one home. Decided there was no safe place to leave it so I took it home and called the police to report it. Talked to a lady officer and told her that I wanted to report that I found this wallet and that I was going to try and find the owner. She told me that I cannot report anything, that I need to bring it to my local police dept. Took it to the locals in my town and couldn't find a sole. then decided to take it to the next closest town which is in MD and no one at that station either. then decided to drive down to the town that was the county seat and brought in to the MD police dept. I had to give all my information and the story and then I could leave. This whole scenario lasted about 3-4 hours and never got a call from anyone. I have returned a few other wallets in the parks, before and since then, where I was able to take it right to the person or my boss would do it for me. He also told me that I was better off to stick it in the mailbox Its not so much the amount of time you spend, its the feeling that they treat you like a criminal for trying to do something right. But God knows you and knows what you went through and you will be blessed for your kindness Take care! Paul

 

[mrs.oroblanco]

I'll call your nightmare and raise you an almost arrest.

Roy and I were out on the road. Stopped at a rest area, and I went to the ladies room. There was a little girl in there. I did what I came to do, and, as I came out, the little girl had just washed her hands and was wiping them. As I washed my hands, she went out the door.

A minute later, I came out the door, and the little girl was going out of the rest area main doors, and started screaming and crying. A van was driving away that she seemed to be running towards. A vehicle was coming around the corner, and I ran and snatched her up from in front of the vehicle and set her back on the sidewalk. She was still screaming and crying. I squatted down to her level, and asked her what was she so upset about. Well, that was her dad driving away in that van. Without her.

After a minute or two, I got the story - her and her brother were asleep in the van when her dad stopped at the rest area to go to the men's room.
While he was gone, she woke up, and decided to go to the ladies room. Apparently, her dad never looked to see if the kids were still asleep in the back, or he looked and saw the boy, and assumed it was both of them.

It was pretty chilly out, so, I wrapped my coat around her, brought her inside and called 911. I got her first name (couldn't really understand her last name), and the state she was from, and that they were coming back from visiting her mother. I relayed all of this on the phone, and told the police that I would stay with her until they got there. Which we did.

When they got there, it became a nightmare +++. Apparently, I was immediately suspected as being a kidnapper, and was held for questioning, right at the rest area maintenence area. They would not let Roy in. They took my coat off the little girl, and I got upset and told them it was too dammed cold for her to be in a t-shirt. (which it was). They finally gave her one of the officer's coats because I would not answer one more question until they got her a jacket. (I was really pi$$ed off by then). Well, they ran my name, they ran my license, they ran everything I think they could run. Meanwhile, I am trying to get them to get someone up the highway to find her dad's van. Time was ticking away, and he was
getting further down the highway. 2 hours - 2 hours of questioning - of me - plus, before they let me go, phone numbers that they could reach me at - I tried to explain how idiotic they were being, since, I obviously wasn't home!! So, I ended up having to give them some family members
numbers, that they could verify that I was who I was.

To this day - I never even knew what happened to the girl. I asked them to please let me know since they had my number, my family's numbers and my life history. Never happened. I am sure that it took at least 2 hours to find the father, because, he still had not been located in the hours I was being grilled.

I wonder why people have attitudes towards police

Beth

 

[Shortstack]

Mrs. O:
That's when you call every T.V. and radio station you can find and report the asinine methods used by that cop shop. Then, file a complaint with the State Attorney General's office about that dept's mistreatment of a citizen.........guilty until proven innocent. Don't forget the IED for that dept, too. Don't get mad get EVEN.

 

[LandStar]

BE CAREFUL...this is a Mexican Scam...They drop a wallet with a little cash, fake ID, but just enough to get you to their door, then when you get there...*Whack* over the head, and they take everything ya got and if ya make it out alive, count yourself lucky...

HH,

 

[GopherDaGold]

Mrs. Oroblanco, I almost sprained my neck from shaking my head so hard while reading your story.
Any cops out there reading this?
Here is mine:

I was at my favorite lake and was sharing small talk with a fellow angler who was also there. We went our separate ways but later I had noticed that a van load of teens had pulled up and from where I was, it looked like the guy had gotten a bit intimidated by them as it appeared the kids weren't there to fish.

They weren't really bothering the guy but from across the lake I could see the guy going back to his car and walked right past his two fully loaded nylon denier tackle bags! I then saw the kids head back toward the bags after he left, but so did I. I got there first and 'set up shop' right by his bags so it looked like they were mine.

After the kids left, I looked thru the bags for ID and sure enough, there was a fishing license inside. I gasped when I saw what else was in those bags. They were stuffed with just about every imaginable type of lure, multitools, LED light headband, spools of line, rod repair kits, hundreds of bass hooks, antique and collectible lures including a rare Fred Arbogast Jitterbug and an Anheiser Busch Budweiser crank bait. The bags could have come from a tournament pro considering the sheer amount of goodies inside.

I took the bags home and started doing research on the guys license. I eventually had to call the police department from the town that was listed on the license. They found and contacted him but the lady officer who called me back said the guy was very obnoxious and threatened to call the district attorney for harassment, wanted the officers badge number, etc. She said the guy was such a jerk that I should just keep the bags. Also mentioned that he no longer lived in that city but gave me the number for the department where he now resided.

Of course I called them and told my story. He took my number and promised to call the other department to verify it and get the phone number THEY used to make contact. Told me to hold on to the bags as they really had no room for them.

A year later after no contact whatsoever I made a handsome profit on what was left after I scavenged what I wanted from them.

I suppose this one is a bit different since I wasn't treated like a criminal but I didn't take the found property to the station either.
Why do cops make it so hard to do the right thing?

 

[Indianhead Jones]

I've always found cops to be a pain to deal with on anything.

Next time just drop the wallet in a mail box.

I intend to do just that, Blockhead...a lot less aggravation!

Larry G.

 

[Indianhead Jones]

Hello, I hate to say it, but I went through something similar. My wife and I were driving up the road and their was a wallet and a cell phone lying on the double yellow lines. I stopped, picked it up and read the address on the license. Was the house to my right, so I pulled in the driveway, rang the bell and no one home. Decided there was no safe place to leave it so I took it home and called the police to report it. Talked to a lady officer and told her that I wanted to report that I found this wallet and that I was going to try and find the owner. She told me that I cannot report anything, that I need to bring it to my local police dept. Took it to the locals in my town and couldn't find a sole. then decided to take it to the next closest town which is in MD and no one at that station either. then decided to drive down to the town that was the county seat and brought in to the MD police dept. I had to give all my information and the story and then I could leave. This whole scenario lasted about 3-4 hours and never got a call from anyone. I have returned a few other wallets in the parks, before and since then, where I was able to take it right to the person or my boss would do it for me. He also told me that I was better off to stick it in the mailbox Its not so much the amount of time you spend, its the feeling that they treat you like a criminal for trying to do something right. But God knows you and knows what you went through and you will be blessed for your kindness Take care! Paul

Hey Paul,

It's what we get for trying to be a good citizen, and caring that the owner gets his/her property back....when the officer was "running me through the computer" I sarcastically told him that he wanted my current address corrected in their computer, because he was running my name to see if I was wanted, or had warrants against me, and he confessed that it was part of the reason....but he couldn't explain why the other man was allowed to leave without a "record check"!!

I'll do it all differently next time, and I'm sure there will be a next time!

Larry G.

 

[Indianhead Jones]

I'll call your nightmare and raise you an almost arrest.

Roy and I were out on the road. Stopped at a rest area, and I went to the ladies room. There was a little girl in there. I did what I came to do, and, as I came out, the little girl had just washed her hands and was wiping them. As I washed my hands, she went out the door.

A minute later, I came out the door, and the little girl was going out of the rest area main doors, and started screaming and crying. A van was driving away that she seemed to be running towards. A vehicle was coming around the corner, and I ran and snatched her up from in front of the vehicle and set her back on the sidewalk. She was still screaming and crying. I squatted down to her level, and asked her what was she so upset about. Well, that was her dad driving away in that van. Without her.

After a minute or two, I got the story - her and her brother were asleep in the van when her dad stopped at the rest area to go to the men's room.
While he was gone, she woke up, and decided to go to the ladies room. Apparently, her dad never looked to see if the kids were still asleep in the back, or he looked and saw the boy, and assumed it was both of them.

It was pretty chilly out, so, I wrapped my coat around her, brought her inside and called 911. I got her first name (couldn't really understand her last name), and the state she was from, and that they were coming back from visiting her mother. I relayed all of this on the phone, and told the police that I would stay with her until they got there. Which we did.

When they got there, it became a nightmare +++. Apparently, I was immediately suspected as being a kidnapper, and was held for questioning, right at the rest area maintenence area. They would not let Roy in. They took my coat off the little girl, and I got upset and told them it was too dammed cold for her to be in a t-shirt. (which it was). They finally gave her one of the officer's coats because I would not answer one more question until they got her a jacket. (I was really pi$$ed off by then). Well, they ran my name, they ran my license, they ran everything I think they could run. Meanwhile, I am trying to get them to get someone up the highway to find her dad's van. Time was ticking away, and he was
getting further down the highway. 2 hours - 2 hours of questioning - of me - plus, before they let me go, phone numbers that they could reach me at - I tried to explain how idiotic they were being, since, I obviously wasn't home!! So, I ended up having to give them some family members
numbers, that they could verify that I was who I was.

To this day - I never even knew what happened to the girl. I asked them to please let me know since they had my number, my family's numbers and my life history. Never happened. I am sure that it took at least 2 hours to find the father, because, he still had not been located in the hours I was being grilled.

I wonder why people have attitudes towards police

Beth

Beth....that is a horror story...I'm sorry you had to go through that hell just to help that little girl. In your case, I think a lawyer and a lawsuit would have been in order....nobody, but nobody deserves treatment like that....and did you happen to mention to those idiots that kidnappers don't call the police to report the kids their abducting

God Bless you for what you tried to do for that little one!

Larry G.

 

[Indianhead Jones]

Mrs. O:
That's when you call every T.V. and radio station you can find and report the asinine methods used by that cop shop. Then, file a complaint with the State Attorney General's office about that dept's mistreatment of a citizen.........guilty until proven innocent. Don't forget the IED for that dept, too. Don't get mad get EVEN.

Hi Mrs. O,

After reading the replies to my story, I'm considering making a formal complaint....I think answers are in order from those involved.

Larry G.

 

[Indianhead Jones]

BE CAREFUL...this is a Mexican Scam...They drop a wallet with a little cash, fake ID, but just enough to get you to their door, then when you get there...*Whack* over the head, and they take everything ya got and if ya make it out alive, count yourself lucky...

HH,

Landstar, I heard that from some friends I was relating the story to....maybe NOT a good idea to go door-to-door in searching for the owner!

Larry G.

 

[Indianhead Jones]

Mrs. Oroblanco, I almost sprained my neck from shaking my head so hard while reading your story.
Any cops out there reading this?
Here is mine:

I was at my favorite lake and was sharing small talk with a fellow angler who was also there. We went our separate ways but later I had noticed that a van load of teens had pulled up and from where I was, it looked like the guy had gotten a bit intimidated by them as it appeared the kids weren't there to fish.

They weren't really bothering the guy but from across the lake I could see the guy going back to his car and walked right past his two fully loaded nylon denier tackle bags! I then saw the kids head back toward the bags after he left, but so did I. I got there first and 'set up shop' right by his bags so it looked like they were mine.

After the kids left, I looked thru the bags for ID and sure enough, there was a fishing license inside. I gasped when I saw what else was in those bags. They were stuffed with just about every imaginable type of lure, multitools, LED light headband, spools of line, rod repair kits, hundreds of bass hooks, antique and collectible lures including a rare Fred Arbogast Jitterbug and an Anheiser Busch Budweiser crank bait. The bags could have come from a tournament pro considering the sheer amount of goodies inside.

I took the bags home and started doing research on the guys license. I eventually had to call the police department from the town that was listed on the license. They found and contacted him but the lady officer who called me back said the guy was very obnoxious and threatened to call the district attorney for harassment, wanted the officers badge number, etc. She said the guy was such a jerk that I should just keep the bags. Also mentioned that he no longer lived in that city but gave me the number for the department where he now resided.

Of course I called them and told my story. He took my number and promised to call the other department to verify it and get the phone number THEY used to make contact. Told me to hold on to the bags as they really had no room for them.

A year later after no contact whatsoever I made a handsome profit on what was left after I scavenged what I wanted from them.

I suppose this one is a bit different since I wasn't treated like a criminal but I didn't take the found property to the station either.
Why do cops make it so hard to do the right thing?

Yet another story.....do these incidents go under the heading of....."Your Tax Dollars At Work"??

Larry G.

 

[Leeame]

Remember, the tarnished Golden Rule,
No good deed goes unpunished!

Lisa in So Oregon

 

[Bum Luck]

Someone is in charge of their budget. An alderman or council member.

They also have a Police Commission and the meetings are public. Go and complain.

You can always write out a complaint and address it to the Chief. That is no guarantee that will have results, but the reality of cop office politics is that he probably has enemies and sometime someone may want to use your complaint against him.

 

[Rasputin]

My father had a similar experience. Alien national jumps his fence, walks through yard, drops wallet, jumps other fence and continues on his way. My father calls the police to turn in the wallet. They come out listen to his story and hassle HIM. They almost arrest him for a stolen wallet.

 

[Sky Pilot]

I gotta say, the things you folks have gone through is certainly enough to sour the milk of human kindness!

No offense intended at all, but could it possibly be because y'all live in highly populated areas? (Assuming that you all do, I mean some places are obviously metro areas.)

Honestly, I found an automatic pistol buried in a field (still in the holster and loaded) while detecting one day, took it to the Sherriff's Department and asked the desk

officer what I needed to do and he told me to leave my phone number if I was interested in claiming it providing it wasn't stolen or needed in an active case

if not, just leave my name for the report.

I left my name and number on a sheet of paper and was out the door in way under 5 minutes tops!

Result: It wasn't stolen but was used in a homicide 20 (?) some years earlier, the suspect was convicted, served time, and died so I went in to claim my find.

Same thing: In and out in under 10 minutes and most of that was waiting on the (ATF Law) FBI check to be certain I could legally posses a firearm, and I was out the door.


There have been several instances where I've found a wallet, once a woman's purse in the bushes by the road, a set of motel pass keys in a playground, and an empty (except for receipts) local bank envelope (honestly-empty when I found it!), and the most time I ever spent was maybe 20 minutes.

I apologize for the ramble, I'm just shocked that you folks had to go through all that! Talk about getting a raw deal! Jeez!

Regards All, SkyPilot

 

[Monty]

Well, I'm an ex policeman, retired in 1988. I could have stayed ten more years but police work was changing and has changed so much it wasn't ilnteresting enough to say around for me. I ususlly take up for policemen, and that is to say that most of them are really nice , intelligent and polite individuals. But right now there is a scandall going on in the police department from where I retired. Seems some of the "new guys", (those who hired on after I retired), decided to rip off drug dealers , send them to jail and keep the bulk of drugs and money for their own profit. That has just sickened me. I find it hard to back them up when crap like this happens. And once I would have trustd my life to nearly every one of them. So, who do you blame? Just before I left the department, the administration of the department and the city was being run by a group of liberal polititions who soon began forcing the old timers out and replacing them with their political cronies. The whole damn city was becoming touchy and feely and coddling the criminal element. The guys hired to protect and serve were handcuffed by ordinances and new law that made them afraid to do much of anything for fear of being sued or investigated for civil rights violations. I could read the writing on the wall and I opted out as soon as I was eligible. So, I won't apologize for the goof balls who mistreated or mishandled your particular dealings with the police. I don't feel like I am part of that genre anymore. I just feel sorry for the good officers that I know are still out there who the public tends to put in the same category as the goof balls. Monty