South

Family finds $1M in the road during afternoon drive

Virginia couple notify authorities after chancing upon cash-stuffed sacks strewn across street while on an outing in the car with their children.

Most have experienced some more trifling version of the common moral dilemma. You find $20 on the floor during your commute, say. Do you hand it in knowing full well it’ll likely just be pocketed? Or do you stash it in your own wallet and thank serendipity?

Now imagine that dilemma writ large to the tune of a million bucks.

We might like to think we’re sure how we’d act in such a ridiculously improbable scenario. But can we really be so certain if a massive windfall became more than theoretical?

A family in Caroline County, Virginia, was put precisely to that test at the weekend when they literally ran over bags stuffed with close to $1M while out on a drive.

Emily Schantz told WTVR that she was out driving with her husband and children on Saturday afternoon when she noticed the car in front swerving to avoid something in the road.

The family ran right over what they assumed to be a bag of trash, and so they did the civic-minded thing. They stopped, picked it up and put it in the back of their pick-up truck, along with another similar bag they had spotted nearby.

Only when the family got back home and checked later that day did they realize exactly what kind of cargo they’d been hauling around all this time: not worthless garbage at all but rather nearly $1 million in hard cash.

“Inside of the bag, there were plastic baggies and they were addressed with something that said ‘cash vault,’” Schantz said.

The family then did what not everyone would find easy to do: they called local deputies to report their discovery.

“For someone so honest and willing to give that almost a million dollars back, it’s exceptional on their part,” Maj. Scott Moser said on behalf of the Caroline County Sheriff’s Office.

Schantz indicated that the decision to hand over the riches was never in doubt

“Do the right thing and return it,” she said. “Because it didn’t belong to us.”

Authorities are still investigating exactly how such a sum of money ended up lying in the road in the first place. One likely explanation is that the cash-filled mail bags belonged to the postal service and were en route to being dropped off at a bank.

The Schantzes may yet see their integrity recognized with a financial reward.

“Their actions deserve nothing less,” Moser said. “They saved someone a lot of money and set a wonderful example for everyone else.”

Latest Stories

Connecticut House of Horrors: Biological Mother Speaks Out

"Wicked stepmother" accused of staggering abuse of stepson over many decades.

1 day ago

Karaoke Meltdown: Florida Man Fires Gun Over Missing Mic

Denied his moment in the spotlight, a Clearwater man turned a bar parking lot into his own action movie—until police stepped in.

2 days ago

Texas Embalmer Allegedly Mutilates Sex Offender’s Corpse in Bizarre Revenge Act

Houston funeral worker accused of taking posthumous justice into her own hands, leaving a crime scene fit for a horror flick.

6 days ago

NJ Maniac Shoots Married Neighbors Before Killing Himself in Mansion After Standoff with Cops

Mystery surrounds motive of John Adamo who shot husband and wife before turning the gun on himself.

1 week ago

Kidnapped baby found alive 25 years later in Mexico – mom still on the run

Connecticut toddler kidnapped by her mother 25 years ago has been found alive in Mexico, while authorities continue searching for the fugitive mother who snatched her in 1999.

2 weeks ago

Fake NBA Rep Swipes $770K in Tiffany Diamonds, Eats Evidence in Bizarre Getaway

A Texas man posing as an NBA insider tried to finesse a high-end jewelry heist—but cops had the last laugh when they caught him with stolen diamonds in his stomach.

2 weeks ago