A New York couple found a rusty box filled with a small treasure in their backyard, but they didn’t dare to keep it, since it wasn’t theirs.
Matthew Emanuel and his wife, Maria Colona-Emanuel assumed that a rusty old box located at the base of some trees in Staten Island backyard was an old fashioned electrical box for years, WCBS reported.
One day, when the couple went to replace the trees, they discovered the mystery box was actually a safe.
Inside was a bag filled with $100 bills and dozens of pieces of jewelry as well as an address of a neighbor.
The box had been reported stolen in 2011 after a robbery at the neighbor’s home, according to the NYPD. The contents were worth $52,000.
“A couple of people asked us, ‘Why did you return it?’” Maria Colonna-Emanuel said. “It wasn’t even a question. It wasn’t ours.”
“The reward is karma – good karma,” Matthew Emanuel said.
The owners of the box were very happy to its return, according to WCBS.
A ceramic elephant now sits where the box once stood.
(H/T: WCBS)