“Wasn’t his money. He should have turned it in to lost and found.”
Once it is dropped, and no one is immediately looking for it, it is a case of finders-keepers. Do you memorize or list the serial numbers of every bill in your wallet? Because that is the ONLY way to ID that a bill is yours. NO ONE does that.
Ct law for example:
Sec. 50-10. Duties of finder. Any person who finds and takes possession of any article of the value of one dollar or more shall report the finding of such article to the police department of the municipality in which he finds such article within forty-eight hours from the time of such finding. The finder of such article shall, at the time of reporting, furnish to the police department the date, time and place of finding, his name and address and a description of the article found, and, within a period of one week from such finding, shall deliver such article to the police department. Any person who violates or fails to comply with the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a class D misdemeanor.