Nicholasville PD: Good Samaritan returns purse containing $8,000

NICHOLASVILLE, Ky. (WTVQ) – A woman in Nicholasville is breathing significantly easier after a good Samaritan returned her purse, containing $8,000 dollars, to police.

Officers say they were called to Ollie’s Bargain Outlet on Wednesday, on a report of a stolen purse.  When they arrived, police say a distraught woman told them that she had accidentally left her purse in a shopping cart while loading her bags. When she discovered the purse was missing, police say she returned to the store, but no one had turned it in there.

Police say the woman was particularly upset because of the amount of money in her purse. According to officers, she explained that she had been saving up money – $8,000 dollars worth – to pay off a loan that day.

Unbeknownst to the woman, or the officers at the scene, over at the police department, a man walked into the lobby to turn in a purse he found at Ollie’s.  When the police clerk asked him who the purse belonged to, police say the man replied, “I don’t know.  I didn’t open it.”

When word got out, the officers at Ollie’s and the woman drove to the police department, where she was able to ID the purse, with not a single dollar missing.

Officers say the woman tried to reward the man, but he refused, saying, “I didn’t do this for a reward.  Turning it in was the right thing to do.”