Lost Wallet Found— After Nearly 60 Years

The wallet fell out of a drainpipe six stories off the ground
By Michael Harthorne,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 18, 2017 4:58 PM CDT
Lost Wallet Found— After Nearly 60 Years
Stock image   (Getty Images/Photography Firm)

Good news: The wallet lost by Isolde Zitzewitz in a Washington state Bon Marche has been found. Bad news: The wallet appears to have been lost nearly 60 years ago, the Bon Marche is long gone, and Zitzewitz died in 2009. The wallet-turned-time capsule was discovered by a construction crew demolishing what is now a Macy's in downtown Spokane. It fell out of a drainpipe six stories off the ground (it's unclear how the wallet ended up in such an improbable spot). The wallet worked its way up the chain of command from the construction crew, eventually landing in the newsroom of the Spokesman-Review.

The wallet contained Zitzewitz's ID cards for the Women's Army Corps; a credit card that predates American Express; a US Army vehicle operator's license; a Fred Meyer receipt for ice cream and coffee; a joke card handed out by commissioned officers when their subordinates complained; and more. None of the documents, some of which are in German, are dated past 1958. A volunteer researcher at the Eastern Washington Genealogical Society tracked down Zitzewitz, discovering she died in 2009, apparently without ever marrying or having children. But the Spokesman-Review found her nephew, Gus Zitzewitz, who describes his aunt as "extremely educated" and worldly. He says she never mentioned losing her wallet. Read the full story here. (More lost and found stories.)

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