A Virginia family was just trying to get out of the coronavirus blues by taking a long drive when they found what turned out to be nearly $1 million in cash in the middle of the road.
It happened last weekend.
A car in front of the Schantz family had swerved out of the way of what appeared to be a big bag of trash, Maj. Scott Moser of the Caroline County Sheriff’s Department told CNN. The Schantz family, however, didn’t have time to do the same.
“So they ran over the bag. Instead of leaving the trash in the road, they stopped, picked it up, threw it in the back of the truck,” Moser said.
They saw another bag in the ditch nearby and picked that one up too. After they arrived home later that evening, they were going to throw away the trash from both bags.
“When they did, it appeared to be mail. Then, they went on further investigation and it appeared to be cash money,” Moser said.
The Schantz family went to church with one of the county’s sheriffs. He told the family to call the office.
“We went out there and determined it was, in fact, cash. It was in two bags and the total was close to $1 million,” Moser said.
Within the two larger bags were smaller ones, each containing some information on where the money should have been deposited.
“Inside of the bag, there were plastic baggies and they were addressed with something that said ‘cash vault,'” Emily Schantz told CNN affiliate WTVR.
The Sheriff’s department conducted its own investigation before turning it over the United States Postal Service, which is now looking into the matter.
“Who it actually belonged to, where it was going,” Moser said. “We haven’t released any of that.”
The USPS is now working to get the money back to its rightful owner.
“It’s really a credit to just the character and fiber of the family,” Moser said. “I’m sure it’d be difficult to make that decision. It’s almost $1 million in cash. But they did the right thing.”