City Will Let Homeless Man Keep $77,000 He Found in a Bag by the Colorado River
The City Council of Bastrop, Texas, has agreed to allow a local homeless man keep a bag of loot worth up to $77,000 that he found in a park last January.
Timothy Yost was walking around Fisherman's Park when he stumbled upon 70 $100 bills and 40 gold Kruggerand coins valued at $1,600 a piece inside a bag along the Colorado River.
Yost took the wet money to the bank to be replaced, but a teller there phoned 911 thinking a crime had been committed, and the money was subsequently taken away by police.
Yost and his attorney, Aleta Peacock, have been putting pressure on the city for months to try and reclaim the treasure, but Texas law required police to ensure the money was not linked to a crime.
Trying unsuccessfully to locate the bag's owner within the allotted time frame, police handed the money back to the city, which voted yesterday to give it back to Yost.
"I've been walking for so long, first thing I want is a vehicle," Yost told Fox 7 News last month.
Unfortunately, he will be unable to celebrate his windfall right away: Yost was recently locked up on charges of public intoxication and criminal trespassing.
