A retired Tennessee couple who found $7,900 in a parking lot say they turned the stash over to police because it was "the right thing" to do.
Johnny and Fay Cripps of Hermitage gave the envelope containing several $100 bills along with a blank check to police, who quickly found the person who dropped it in a medical center parking lot, the Tennessean reported Thursday.
Johnny Cripps, 68, told the newspaper not to make a big deal out of the loss and find.
"We don't want to be patted on the back and people saying 'What a good deed,'" he said. "The way you were raised several years ago, people were honest. You shake hands and seal a deal. Now you have to have attorneys, get everything signed. But people can do the right thing."
Mount Juliet Police Chief Kenneth Martin said the envelope was returned to its owner -- an elderly man in frail health who apparently dropped it out of his pocket.
Fay Cripps, 62, said all she could think was "someone had to be devastated to lose that much money."
© Copyright 2004 by United Press International
