Van Ha carried an envelope filled with $12,000 US in cash everywhere she went, planning to eventually give it to her three children.
She felt safer keeping the large sum with her rather than putting it anywhere else, said her nephew, Truong Huynh.
But on Sept. 22, when Ha, 71, returned home from grocery shopping at Market Basket in Shrewsbury, Mass., her heart sank: The envelope was missing.
She phoned her nephew in a panic, telling him that her precious savings must have slipped out of her purse in the parking lot or at the store.
“She was sad and she admitted her mistake; she shouldn’t keep cash with her like that,” said Huynh, noting that Ha does not speak English.
Huynh, 55, agreed to take Ha back to the supermarket to help her communicate with store employees and try to track down the missing envelope.
When they got there, store manager Dan Desfosses offered to look at surveillance footage to see if he could pinpoint when and where the envelope escaped her bag. He checked, but no luck.
“You could tell she was upset,” Desfosses said.
RECOMMENDED VIDEO
Although Desfosses found footage of Ha exiting her car and walking into the store earlier that day, he did not spot the envelope at any point. Huynh said he and his aunt felt defeated and distressed, especially since the cash was intended to help support her family.
“She tries to help out her kids,” said Huynh. “We were about to leave very sad.”
Just as they were getting into the car to head home empty-handed, Desfosses ran outside with good news: A customer had just brought the envelope to the service desk. Every dollar was still there.
“The look on her face when he presented the money back to her was priceless,” Desfosses said.
The good Samaritan who brought it back just wanted to be sure it went to its rightful owner, Desfosses said.
“I don’t know if there’s a lot of people that would do that,” Desfosses said. “It shows you what he’s made of … It shows you there are truly some good people in this world.”
Huynh said he and his aunt were absolutely floored that the cash was returned.
“We were so happy, we almost cried,” Huynh said, adding that he asked to take a photo of the man with Desfosses.
The man who returned the envelope identified himself only as “Skip,” Desfosses said, adding that he is a regular customer of the store, and his girlfriend works there. Desfosses and Huynh said they did not know the man’s full name.
“He showed honour,” Huynh said. “Many people wouldn’t pass that test.”
After going home that afternoon, cash in hand, Ha decided she wanted to give Skip a reward for returning the large sum of cash. She and her nephew went back to the store later that afternoon with $300. They gave it to Skip’s girlfriend, as he was no longer there. The Washington Post could not reach Skip or his girlfriend for an interview.
In a local Facebook group, Huynh shared the story — which was first reported by the Worcester Telegram — and gave Skip a shout-out for doing the right thing.
“It takes a special kind of person to do something so honest and selfless, and Skip, you are a true example of integrity and compassion,” Huynh wrote. “Thank you, Skip — you’ve touched more lives than you know today.”