CHICAGO (CBS) — A wallet containing hundreds of dollars in cash was lost in Pilsen, then found and returned by an anonymous Good Samaritan.
Social media helped shine a light on the selfless act – and helped create a heartwarming moment.
Everyone who voted on Election Day last Tuesday couldn’t avoid the heavy rainstorms — including Ezequiel Fuentes, who voted at Harrison Park in Pilsen.
“It was raining outside,” Fuentes said. “I ran outside with my baby. I don’t know at what point I lost my wallet.”
Fuentes only realized he had dropped his wallet when he arrived at a store.
“At the time of paying I thought, where’s my wallet? I thought I left it in the car,” he said. “I ran to the car. I looked everywhere. At that time it was still raining.”
At that point, Fuentes panicked because not only were his ID and credit cards in the wallet, but also a large sum of cash.
“There’s a fair amount of money in it,” he said. ‘I wanted to go to the bank and deposit that. I didn’t get a chance to do that.’
Meanwhile, Luis Cruz had just finished voting in the same precinct in Harrison Park.
“I saw the wallet and all the money in the wallet,” Cruz said.
The black wallet caught Cruz’s attention, and so did the soaked cash.
“Yes, there was a discussion, but it was short-lived,” Cruz said.
Cruz knew whoever dropped that $1,000 outside Harrison Park really needed it — and Cruz himself couldn’t keep it.
“Even if I had needed it or could have used it, I think I’m okay with what I did,” Cruz said.
So Cruz walked to the steps of Fuentes’ porch and knocked on the door.
“It was a loud blow and I sat in the back of the house thinking, what the hell is going on?” said Fuentes’ stepdaughter, Alondra Pena.
Pena hesitated to open the door to the stranger. But just as Cruz was about to give up, Pena opened the door.
As seen on the doorbell camera, Cruz then showed Pena the wallet.
‘I was wondering: do you know the person who lives here? I found his wallet,” Cruz said. “I could just see how shocked she was that I sent it back.”
Pena was shocked and very happy.
‘I like to look at the wallet. It’s full of hundred dollar bills,” Pena said. “I’m like, ‘Oh my god, this guy is amazing!'”
At that point, Fuentes was back at the park, frantically searching, when he got a call from Pena.
“She says, ‘Hey, someone found your wallet and took it home, and I say, ‘Oh my God,’” Fuentes said. “My heart sank, right there. It was like complete peace.
But just as quickly as Cruz arrived, the doorbell video shows him leaving even faster.
“I wanted to ask him, and he just likes leaves,” Pena said. “I thought, ‘Okay, Robin Hood.’
So Pena took to social media and shared still images.
“And an old friend messaged me and said, ‘Hey, that’s my cousin,’” she said.
CBS News was there when Cruz and Fuentes shook hands.
“This gentleman was like an angel,” and Fuentes.
Cruz said he doesn’t consider himself an angel.
“I think I did exactly what everyone hopes someone would do for them,” he said.
But Cruz’s action, going to that porch and returning Fuentes’ wallet to his stepdaughter, speaks to the heart of Chicago.
“People like you represent Chicago, and I can’t thank him enough,” Fuentes said.
Jermont Terry
