May 24 (UPI) — A 9-year-old Indiana boy cleaning out the SUV his family bought in September made a discovery his father found it difficult to believe: $5,000 cash.
Landon Melvin, 9, was cleaning out his family’s Chevrolet Suburban in Plainfield when he found an envelope under a floor mat that contained the cash.
The boy told his father, Michael Melvin, about the discovery in the vehicle, which the family had purchased in September 2020, but his dad had a difficult time believing the story was accurate.
“I was like, ‘Whatever.’ He’s 9,” Michael Melvin told WRTV. “I’m like ‘you found something, OK.’ He says, ‘No, Dad I really did.’ I walk over. I see it. I reach down. I say, you know, ‘What is this?’ And, I’m thinking it’s probably paperwork of some sort.”
The “paperwork” was indeed $5,000 cash.
The Melvins contacted the previous owners of the SUV, a South Carolina family. The family told them they had driven the Suburban to Florida for a cruise in 2019 and had misplaced the envelope of money during the trip.
The family insisted that Landon Melvin keep $1,000 of the money as a finder’s fee.
“It’s upstairs in my room. I’ve just been thinking and thinking of all the stuff I could buy,” Landon Melvin said.
Michael Melvin said the situation taught him a valuable lesson.
“Check floor mats, always,” he said. “We went back out, and we checked all the rest of the floor mats. I mean, what else is hidden in this vehicle?
“So, that’s one thing I’m going to definitely do when I clean vehicles out. That’s the first place I’m starting.”