(WSVN) - Imagine finding thousands of dollars hidden away in a piece of donated furniture. As 7’s Kevin Ozebek tells us, for one South Florida woman, a surprise discovery led her on a hunt she will never forget.
For April Gabriel, it all started eight years ago when she saw an ad for furniture being given away at a Boca Raton condo.
April Gabriel: “They were selling the units and were getting rid of all the furniture.”
She picked out a dresser and brought it home.
Five years later, April decided it needed an update.
April Gabriel: “I decided to revamp it in spray paint.”
But when she pulled out the drawers, what she found stunned her.
April Gabriel: “I realized there was something in the back, taped to the back, with a manila envelope.”
The manila envelope contained 18 $100 U.S. savings bonds. They were issued to Robert and Patricia Burns of Johnstown, Pennsylvania.
April Gabriel: “I was surprised. I was obviously – you don’t expect to, like, find it. It’s like a treasure.”
The bonds had been issued in the ’80s, so all these years later, they were worth thousands of dollars.
April knew she had to find the owners.
April Gabriel: “I just want to do the right thing.”
She went back to the condo where she got the dresser.
She was told Patty, now going by her maiden name McCully, did not live there anymore.
She did a computer search and couldn’t find Robert, either.
April Gabriel: “I went to Instagram, I went to Facebook, I Googled the name, I did a People Search.”
No luck.
When COVID-19 hit, April put her search on hold. Two more years went by.
Then, last month, she had another idea.
April Gabriel: “I love Channel 7, so I said, ‘Well, let me email them.'”
After April contacted the 7 Investigates team, we started our own search.
It took a few days and a lot of phone calls, but we finally tracked down Patty’s daughter in Pennsylvania.
Patty McCully: “My daughter called me. She [said], ‘Mom, a reporter from Miami is trying to get a hold of you.”’
Turns out, Patty still lives in South Florida.
Days later, she and April finally met.
Patty had given up on finding her savings bonds, which had gone missing years earlier when she donated some furniture.
Patty McCully: “I was shocked, actually. How could they show up now?”
And here’s another twist in the tale: Patty says this dresser is not the one she donated.
Patty McCully: “It’s a mystery how it got into the dresser that’s not even mine.”
Patty said she notified the U.S. Department of the Treasury that her savings bonds had gone missing.
Patty McCully: “I said, ‘You know, I’ve lost these. Will you please reimburse me?’ And they did.”
Even though she’s already cashed the bonds in, Patty is glad to get the originals back.
Patty McCully: “A lot of people may have just thrown them in a drawer or maybe threw them away. Who knows?”
She said thank you to April with an original painting.
April Gabriel: “That’s beautiful. Did you paint that? Wow.”
April is happy to have finally found Patty.
April Gabriel: “I reached out to Channel 7 Investigates, and I felt like you guys followed through. You took the story and helped me, you know, get to the finish line.”
Getting to the finish line and helping them both get a good start to the new year.
Kevin Ozebek, 7News.
CONTACT 7 INVESTIGATES:
305-627-CLUE
954-921-CLUE
7Investigates@wsvn.com
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