CENTRAL — When Susan Uber and her husband Michael made a trip to the Aldi grocery store in Central after a fishing trip with their grandson on Sunday, Aug. 4, they didn’t expect to experience the best and worst of humanity all within 24 hours.
After leaving the Aldi store earlier this week, Michael realized his wallet was missing. The couple frantically returned and searched the store but couldn’t find it.
The couple tells UWK that they asked the Aldi employees to review security footage from outside the store, and saw a vehicle with two people drive to where they initially thought the wallet had been dropped in the parking lot. The footage showed a woman reaching down from the passenger side and picking it up.
Inside the wallet were Michael’s identification and credit cards, along with $600 in cash. The wallet also held sentimental value, as it had been a gift from his late father.
“My husband has business cards in there, old business cards, but they had a phone number on it so they could have easily reached us and didn’t,” Susan Uber said.
Uber also posted photos of the vehicle and the couple on social media, hoping to identify them. She said multiple people reached out with tips on who the couple may be.
However, roughly an hour after speaking with UWK about the lost wallet, Uber called to say that someone had turned it in. The wallet had been found in Baton Rouge, far from the Aldi in Central. Baton Rouge Police then returned to wallet to Central Police, who called the rightful owner.
While her husband’s identification and credit cards were still in the wallet, the $600 cash was gone.
Uber said she isn’t angry about the missing money and is just relieved given the sentimental value of the wallet and that they don’t have to replace crucial items like her husband’s Choctaw nationality registration, driver’s license, and Veteran’s Administration card.
“It’s a blessing to get the wallet back. We’re really just glad to get all his cards and stuff back,” Uber said.
She mentioned they’re unsure how the wallet ended up in Baton Rouge but are using the experience as a learning lesson, noting that her husband won’t be wearing loose-fitting gym shorts to the grocery store anymore. Ultimately, Uber said she isn’t angry with the person or people who took the money.
“God blesses people in mysterious ways. If that was what they needed to get that money, then so be it,” Uber said. “There’s not a whole lot of people that will pass up on $600 cash, especially in the economy we have. They’re going to have to answer for it. They will have to make their excuses with God, not with me. They don’t owe me an explanation.”
The Ubers expressed special thanks to the officer with Central Police and to Aldi management, who were very helpful after the wallet was lost.
Central Police Chief Roger Corcoran said they are looking for a person of interest in the missing wallet and stolen money case. Anyone with information on the identification and location of the man caught on video is asked to call Central PD.
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