Homeless man finds $17G in bag outside food bank, hailed for turning it in

close

Video

Homeless man returns $17,000 found outside food bank

Bag full of money donated to Sumner Community Food Bank after it was turned into police by homeless man and went unclaimed.

A homeless man in the Tacoma, Wash., area is being praised for his decision to turn in $17,000 he found outside a local food bank.

Kevin Booth, 32, of Sumner found the cash in August, inside a brown bag he discovered lying on the ground, the Puyallup Herald reported.

“At first, I was like, what the heck is that lying on the ground?” Booth said.

He pulled out a $20 bill, but later gave the bag to a food bank volunteer, not realizing how much more money was inside it.

They decided to turn the cash over to police, who kept the money for 90 days without receiving any claims, the report said.

The police recently gave the cash to the food bank, which plans to use it for a building expansion. The food bank gave Booth an unspecified reward.

He also received a citizen certificate from the Sumner Police Department and gift cards for use at his favorite local store, Seattle's Q13 FOX reported.

“I believe a hand up is what we should be doing with our homeless,” food bank volunteer Anita Miller told the Herald. “All of us who are trying to help should think about that.”

Booth also received praise from the local police chief.

“Not every citizen would be as honest as you in this situation,” Chief Brad Moericke told him.

Booth said he felt happy about the recognition he received and was glad the food bank would be expanding.

“There are a lot of people who would have taken it,” Booth said about the cash. “I’m just not that person.”