A North Dakota woman’s stolen wallet was returned to her in pristine condition 47 years later – creating a time capsule of her life in 1977.
Darlene Abel was pregnant and working as a hairstylist at a Minot salon when her wallet was snatched.
Nearly five decades later a plumbing crew working on the building where Abel worked discovered her missing belongings in the ceiling.
The wallet remained frozen in time containing Abel’s family photos, credit cards, coupons and other important cards.
‘It was just like walking through history, you know, looking at my wallet, my pictures and my cards; and it’s been a lot of fun,’ Abel told KFYR.
Darlene Abel (pictured) had her wallet returned to her 47 years after it was stolen in 1977
A plumbing crew working on the building where Abel worked discovered her missing belongings in the ceiling and found her at the address listed on her old driver’s license
The wallet remained frozen in time containing coupons, membership cards and loyalty cards from the 70s
Abel said she did not file a police report at the time because she felt there was not anything worth getting someone in trouble over in her wallet.
‘It wasn’t that big a deal because I didn’t have that much money in it or anything. I don’t think maybe they got $10-12 if they were lucky,’ she said.
The crew was able to track down Abel because she still lives at the address listed on her 1977 driver’s license.
‘I remember the shirt I wore in that [driver’s license] picture. It was a great shirt,’ Abel said.
Combing through her belongings, Abel found an expired library card, coupons, loyalty cards, credit cards, business cards, an uncashed check and appointment reminders.
It also held precious photos, included a picture of her daughter who died just months before her wallet was stolen.
‘There’s a lot of history here. There were a lot of photos in there of people who are very precious to me,’ she said.
Abel said she did not file a police report at the time because she didn’t want anyone to get in trouble – but the wallet did contain her precious family photos
Abel found an expired library card, credit cards, business cards and an uncashed check
Earlier this year in Michigan, a man found a time capsule from over 100 years ago in the ceiling of his home.
Jesse Leitch, from Grand Rapids, made the surprising discovery when contractors came to put in some new pipes after he had heating problems in his abode.
While the workers were ‘cutting into the ceiling above his bathroom,’ they came across of slew of items left there by the previous residents – and they dated back to over a century ago.
Amongst the stuff left behind was a newspaper from 1913 and a business card for a local music shop, which upon doing some research, he found out had closed in 1907.
In addition, there was a handwritten letter sent from someone named Gertrude to someone else named Ruth.
