Honest like no other: Lost items returned
‘‘The police said they didn’t leave their name. I want to thank the people. Honestly, it’s great; the honesty, the compassion.’’
After spending hours searching for her lost phone and cash-filled wallet, a Manawatū woman didn’t think she had ‘‘a show’’ of getting her belongings back.
Then, she walked into the New Plymouth police station.
Paulette Morton now wants nothing more than to thank the ‘‘honest, compassionate’’ Taranaki person, or people, who handed in her things untouched – including the $250 cash her wallet held.
‘‘I just couldn’t believe it,’’ the 75-year-old said. ‘‘The people up there need to be thanked, and thanked properly.’’
Morton, who used to be in the air force but now does water testing for a private water company, had come to the region, which has a tag line of ‘‘Like no other’’, with her Taranaki-raised husband, Christopher, for a 90th birthday party on Friday, February 4.
The celebrations were held at Pukekura Park, and after the speeches Morton decided to go on a solo walk to soak in the nature.
She and her husband then drove to a friend’s house nearby, before heading to Kawaroa Park, and to Ngāmotu Beach for a walk along the beach.
There, she realised pockets were empty.
Morton’s iPhone was gone, and so was her wallet, which had her belongings and $250 that belonged to the Feilding RSA, as her she was planning to head out and do a shop for the organisation.
‘‘I’ve never lost my wallet, anything,’’ she said. ‘‘I have never had a problem with it coming out of my back pocket, and I walk and bike everywhere.’’
So, she headed back along the beach, but wasn’t hopeful.
‘‘I went out and got my shorts wet. I thought if the phone’s out there, that’s it.’’
Plus, she said there were about 50 children, and guessed one may have picked it up and taken off.
‘‘That’s just a kid thing.’’
For the next few hours the couple retraced their steps, until Morton finally said to her husband that the police station was their last option.
‘‘I thought ‘I haven’t got a show’.’’
But, when she walked in and said her name, the woman behind the front desk replied: ‘‘You’re the luckiest person in New Plymouth.’’
‘‘I just said, ‘you’ve got to be joking’,’’ Morton said. ‘‘And everything was in there.’’
While she had considered writing a letter to the editor, she reached out to Stuff as she wanted to highlight the ‘‘really good person’’.
‘‘The police said they didn’t leave their name,’’ she said. ‘‘I want to thank the people. Honestly, it’s great; the honesty, the compassion.’’
Sue Billing, who runs Retrieve Metal Detecting in New Plymouth, knows the happiness Morton would have gone through getting her things back, she’s seen first-hand the excitement of people being reunited with lost items.
‘‘It’s very exhilarating,’’ she said.
While metal detecting started as a hobby, Billing started working to recover lost jewellery after she found a couple’s wedding ring, a year after they lost it at Lake Rotomanu, in 2019.
And, in this summer alone, she has returned two heirloom rings to families – including one that was thought to be lost in the tide at Fitzroy Beach.
But, while retracing the steps with the woman, Billing found it – which was ‘‘absolutely’’ rewarding.
‘‘She just started crying and hugging me, she was so emotional.’’