A Chicago man was out $1,000 but his luck changed Sunday in what turned out to be a happy ending to what started out as a disappointing turn of events.
"Can't wait till my golf trip next year," Chuck Behm said. "I'll do something else with my cash."
It all started Tuesday, when the Dundee resident was on his annual golf trip to Florida with friends that he somehow lost $1,000 in travel money while having lunch at a lobster house in Punta Gorda.
"I had ten $100 bills in my front left picket, which I thought was a good idea, had it on the whole trip," he said. "Apparently I dropped it on the seat somehow."
Local waitress Samantha Knight found the cash and ran after who she thought it belonged to. This surveillance footage shows her turning the money over to another patron.
"I was like, 'You left this in the booth.' He said, 'Thanks,' patted his pocket, took it and walked away," Knight said.
It wasn't until the next day when Behm realized he'd lost the money and retraced his steps to the restaurant that everyone involved figured out what happened.
"I feel really bad," said Knight. "I wish I had just held on to it and waited for someone to call. But I thought I was giving it to the right guy."
But just as ABC7 Eyewitness News showed up Sunday morning to interview Behm, who is now back home in Dundee, a phone call came in. The money was returned with a little extra tip for the waitress.
"The gentleman said he was tired and confused and then the money was mixed together in his wallet," Behm said. "She said, 'Did you change your mind?' and I said, 'No, you keep it.' 'Do you want the money back?' And I said, 'No you keep it, it's Christmas,' and the man gave her an extra $100 on top of it and said, 'Sorry for all the confusion.'"
