Skip to content

The Price is Right: 50 cash-hungry ‘contestants’ call B.C. RCMP to claim returned cash

North Vancouver RCMP dealt with onslaught of people trying to claim $2,600 cash as theirs
22699035_web1_money-bills
(Black Press file photo)

North Vancouver RCMP call-takers spent the weekend playing a game of ‘The Price is Right’ after more than 50 cash-hungry “contestants” attempted to claim a large sum of cash recently turned in by a Good Samaritan.

Last week, $2,600 in cash was turned into the North Vancouver Mounties, prompting the local department to put out a news release seeking the rightful owner. At the time, they didn’t detail the sum of cash that had been turned in.

What came next was a busy weekend for call-takers, wading through dozens of calls to do with the mystery money.

“Did 50 people lose large sums of cash in North Vancouver recently? I don’t think so,” said Sgt. Peter DeVries. “I thought we had made it clear we didn’t want people to play the guessing game. Maybe they didn’t read to the end of the press release.”

Police did find the rightful owner, who was able to describe the exact amount and the denominations of the bills, as well as where they thought they had lost it which was consistent with where it was found.

“While it’s disappointing to think there are people out there who might not have turned the money in, it is plain despicable to see people trying to falsely claim ownership.”

The person who did the right thing by turning the money in is to be commended, said DeVries.

“The focus of this story should be on their good and right actions.”

Police policy dictates that money valued under $5,000 is held for three months, and values over $5,000 are held for nine months, before it is turned over to the province if the rightful owner isn’t found.


@ashwadhwani
ashley.wadhwani@bpdigital.ca

Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

Want to support local journalism? Make a donation here.



About the Author: Ashley Wadhwani-Smith

I began my journalistic journey at Black Press Media as a community reporter in my hometown of Maple Ridge, B.C.
Read more