Posted on 03/30/2006 11:10:40 AM PST by JZelle
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- John Suhrhoff found a Louis Vuitton bag on a Sausalito park bench. Inside, police say, were a 12-carat diamond ring, pearl and emerald jewelry, a Cartier watch and roughly $500 in cash. The contents were worth $1 million. The respiratory therapist didn't think of heading to a pawn shop. He took the bag to police Monday afternoon. The bag is now en route to a Toronto family who had been in Northern California for a wedding. "Every person I know or associate with would have done the same thing," Mr. Suhrhoff, 56, said Tuesday. "I'm glad to be able to help." The Canadian family told the Marin Independent Journal they were sightseeing Sunday in Sausalito, a tourist hub known for its waterfront views of San Francisco. Shahla Ghannadian briefly left her husband in charge of the purse, which contained jewelry she wore at the wedding. Mrs. Ghannadian realized the bag was gone when she returned to her San Francisco hotel. The family went to police but didn't have any luck. They were told the chances were slim that the bag would be returned. "You have to be a real man to return that bag," Mr. Ghannadian's son, Ali, told the paper. "Even the bag is expensive. We're really, really thankful to that guy." Sausalito police said Mr. Suhrhoff had thought the bag contained costume jewelry. It was not clear whether the family offered him a reward.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
Then why go to the cops with it?
Good guy. I'd have done exactly the same thing, and have done similar stuff in the past, when I've found wallets and the like.
I imagine that every FReeper would do the same thing if they had found this purse. It's just the right thing to do.
Character is what you do when no one is looking.
-J.C. Watts
Because it belonged to someone else and he had no way of contacting them.
Good costume jewelry and a top-end LV bag can be worth a few grand just by themselves.
I hope no one was looking when JC Watts stole that quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson.
My error, I'm sure. Thanks for the correction.
My dad left a wallet on the counter in a post office in So. California and it was returned to him (someone called him to say they found it and were holding it at the Post Office for him). There are honest people still around, but it's not something ABC,NBC, and CBS thinks is newsworthy!
I've seen that quote attributed to JC Watts in many other places, not just your post. For some reason it has become associated with him.
"Then why go to the cops with it?"
Other than the obvious, (that it's the right thing to do), there was $500 in the bag.
I wish this weren't seen as remarkable. I can say with a reasonable amount of certainty, I or anyone I associate with would have taken the bag in to the police.
How could someone leave a bag with those contents in a park?
He did what you oughta do. Period. Even if it were a vinyl bag with 10 bucks in it and a few photos. Duh.
Oh wait, I can answer my own question: everything was insured.
Then why go to the cops with it?
A nice costume necklace might be worth a couple of hundred bucks, instead of a few hundred thousand.
I wish that person would have found my 1300 camera that I left in the bathroom at work by mistake. I would have it now. Unfortunatelly this town is mostly populated by meth addicts and extreme left liberals. No such luck for me.
I honestly believe that not making an attempt to return an item that you found is nothing less than stealing it. Most newspapers will offer free "found" ads. Too bad there aren't many people with hearts like this person.
This country is in a very very sad state.
If he adapted that as his code of honor, good for him.
The story suggests that the wife asked her husband to pay attention to her bag without informing him that her jewelry was inside, and he apparently forgot it - as i would quite plausibly do too.
Why don't I find stuff like that. Sigh.
I left a bag with cameras and some other good stuff in the middle of piazza San Marco in Venice, of all places. Just for a few moments to get a good shot with the colorful carnival goers. When I felt it absence 10 minutes later, I was sure its gone, but it wasn't! It was sitting where I left it and people were just walking around.
I gave him the wallet and he just turned around and walked away. No "thank you", "gracias", or "go to hell". I had looked briefly and it had a stack of hundreds. After his response, I wished I had kept it! But, my mom would have burned me a new one.
I wasn't raised that way, and after 58 years, I doubt I can change!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.