Missing Money Mystery

Did nearly half-million dollars, wrapped in three packages, fall out of an armored truck onto a busy street, through a partly open door? That's the truck driver's story and the FBI is investigating.

The armored truck employee told the FBI that he noticed the missing money, nearly $500,000, Wednesday evening when he discovered a door was ajar, the FBI said.

The money disappeared during a half-mile journey from the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland.

The cash was enclosed in plastic wrap, with each package weighing about 42 pounds, said FBI spokesman Robert Hawk. Hawk would not comment on whether the bills were marked or what denomination the bills are in.

"I've been here 23 years, and nothing surprises me any more," said Hawk. "But something falling out of an armored truck en route? That's unusual."

The FBI would not say if they have suspicions over how the money disappeared.

FBI agents scoured downtown Cleveland, asking merchants and passersby if they had seen anything strange. Agents also sought surveillance videotapes from businesses along the route.

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