Sharp troopers spot lost loot

Sr. Tpr. James Duncan, pictured, was accompanying a recruit
on the recruit’s first night of patrol when the pair found thousands
of dollars in cash littering the roadway.

The keen awareness of two Oregon troopers assigned to the Tualatin Worksite recently brought great relief to one man before the holidays.

On November 25, Sr. Tpr. James Duncan had taken Recruit Scott Kinch out on his first night of patrol since graduating from the Oregon State Police Academy nearly two weeks earlier. While driving along a main thoroughfare in Sherwood, Ore., Kinch spotted what he believed were dollar bills lying on the roadway.

Upon turning around to examine the paper littered across the road, Kinch and his training officer discovered that it was indeed money, but not $1 bills as they had assumed. The two troopers’ discovery consisted of several $100 bills, blowing in the wind. Just 30 minutes after notifying local police agencies of the discovery, the money’s owner reported the loss to a local police department. The man reported that while fueling up at a local gas station, he had set an envelope containing $5,000 on the trunk of his car. After purchasing the gas, he drove off, not realizing until several minutes later that he had left the cash on his vehicle.

After satisfying that he was indeed the rightful owner of the money, the troopers returned with the man to the area of the discovery and spent nearly an hour and a half searching for remaining bills. In the end, they were able to recover a total of $2,400. While not the entire amount, the money’s owner was grateful for the sharp eye of the two troopers that allowed him to recover half of his loss.

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