Northern Colorado thrift store looking for rightful owner after valuables accidentally donated

A thrift store in northern Colorado is hoping to find a woman they say accidentally donated highly valuable items earlier this year.

The Loveland Police Department said the woman donated a couple of small bags of items to the Arc Thrift Store around lunchtime on Jan. 16. The bags were kept in the store's storage area for several weeks until staff could process them.

When staff went to inspect the donations, they reportedly discovered some highly valuable items hidden inside a box inside one of the bags. The thrift store staff believe these items were donated by mistake, and they notified the Loveland Police Department in the hopes they could find the owner.

After checking through surveillance footage, police believe they found footage of the person who made the donation. Authorities said the woman was driving a dark-colored, newer model Hyundai Palisade with a black Colorado custom license plate. They encouraged anyone who can help identify the owner to contact the police department at (970) 667-2151.

"To say it's a treasure is an understatement. Without exaggeration, it's an incredible find," Loveland Police Department Public Information Officer Chris Padgett told CBS Colorado. "The employee immediately, I mean, so commendable of them, to take that and to go to management, to show them what was located, and then management immediately contacted the Loveland Police Department."

"♥️ This story has the potential for an incredible ending, and we are eager to surprise the owner with the return of something truly special and incredibly valuable," the department said on its Facebook page.