CHP Officer Finds Lost Purse With $1,400 In Vacaville, Returned To Owner

VACAVILLE (CBS SF) – A California Highway Patrol officer responding to a report of a large cardboard box in a traffic lane on Interstate Highway 80 in Vacaville Thursday morning found something entirely different.

Officer Tony Blencowe didn't find the box, but he did find a purse in the center divider of the freeway around 9:30 a.m., CHP Officer Chris Parker said.

Inside the purse was a plastic bag containing $1,421 in cash but no official identification, Parker said.

Blencowe did locate some business cards, phone numbers and medical paperwork with a name on it inside the purse, and after several phone calls he was able to return it to its owner, Suzana Lopez.

While Lopez's family was moving from Napa to Sacramento, the box with the purse fell off their vehicle, Parker said.

Lopez said she had no idea there was money in the purse because she had not used it in some time, Parker said.