A photographer who went into an abandoned house to take pictures of its antiques found almost $7,000 in bundles of cash – and was then able to reunite it with its rightful owners after tracking them down.
The man only known as Dave, of Freaktography came across the derelict property in Ontaria, Canada after being tipped off by a friend and was desperate to go inside and capture images.
After entering the property, he found a number of antiques and old family photos, as well as a yellow Home Hardware bag rolled up behind a mattress.
The abandoned house in Ontario, Canada, where $7,000 had been hiding underneath mattress and was only discovered by a photographer
The first floor of the derelict property which was visited by photographer Dave as part of his urban photography project
The $6,800 in tightly rolled bundles that was found in a yellow Home Hardware bag which was stuffed behind an old mattress
On opening the bag, the photographer found $6,800 in both Canadian and US dollars in tightly rolled bundles.
But despite finding the cash, Dave was keen to track down its rightful owner rather than keep it himself and then eventually managed to reunite the money with a distant relative of the house’s last owner.
He explained: ‘I hung my coat and got my bearings in the house, unpacked my gear and got ready to shoot a pic of the kitchen when something caught my eye at the corner of the mattress.
‘Behind the mattress was a yellow Home Hardware bag – full of stuff. I became nervous and unsure of what I should do.
‘But found behind the mattress was nearly $6,800 in cash – old smelly US and Canadian money, tightly rolled.
‘Most of it was bundled up in little elastics marked in pencil with dates and amounts throughout the mid 1960s to the 1970s.’
Holes in the roof meant the inside of the property had started to decay after being exposed to all of the elements
The house had fallen into disrepair due to the owners becoming ill and then dying with nobody else able to look after the property’s upkeep
The living room had been left to ruin and the dining room still had a bed in it, where one of the old residents slept while battling cancer
The abandoned kitchen which greeted the photographer when he first entered the derelict house, with pots and pans still in the sink and a mattress propped up against the wall
After learning that the house had fallen into disrepair due to the owners becoming ill and then dying, Dave and a friend tracked down a female relative of the owner.
They eventually met the relative and handed over the cash.
Dave said: ‘I told her that I was an urban explorer and I am part of a community who finds abandoned houses and takes photos of them.
‘I said I had recently photographed an abandoned house in and I believe it may have been her family home.
‘I told her we didn’t want to leave it there for some kid or vandal to find and to steal and we wanted to return this money to the family, where it belongs
‘Her demeanor changed, she was apprehensive and nervous and she needed to talk to her husband.
Some of the old tins and food cans found in the kitchen, which appeared untouched since the owners had left the property
As well as finding cash, Dave also discovered a number of old notebooks, which were also passed on to the family member he tracked down
As well as finding the cash and other antiques, a selection of old pictures were also found having been stashed in the kitchen cupboards
‘Thirty minutes later she called back and asked me if we could meet that afternoon at the house.
‘We gave her the money, every penny, she started to cry and overwhelmed by this random act of kindness, and by the emotions she felt at being back at this house.
‘We didn’t pry or ask about family history, we offered a few hugs and just took in the moment. We posed with her for a photo, at her request, and after many many thank you hugs we went on our way.’
They later learned that the money was likely collected over decades by the woman’s grandparents from a fruit stand they owned.
source: dailymail.co.uk
