Life always seems to put the right people in the right place at the right time – and life gave Lakeville residents John Cloutier and Joe Verajon a chance to prove that there are still ‘good guys? out there in the world.
While fishing in Lakeville Lake around 11:30 a.m. on July 6, Joe Verajon hooked an unusual catch from 15 feet below: a black men’s wallet filled with a young man’s identification, video rental cards, cash and other personal belongings.
‘We were just sitting there and Joe suddenly said ‘Did you lose your wallet,?? remembered John Cloutier. ‘I told him no, and he said ‘Well, neither did I. So whose is this?? The wallet had just been sitting on the bottom in the mud, and Joe had put his sinker on too low, so he ended up hooking it right up.?
The two men said they returned quickly to their house located on a small island on the lake. They laid out, cleaned and dried all of the items from the wallet, including a orthodontic appointment slip.
‘I put the slip on the counter and was just able to see a doctor’s phone number through the top,? remembers Cloutier.
‘He had to get right down there and get in real close and use his glass and all,? laughed Verajon, ‘but he finally did it. He figured out that number.?
Cloutier called the doctor’s office to see if they could help him contact the young man, and after proving to the staff that the Lakeville men simply wanted to return the lost wallet, was given contact information for a high school youth in Rochester Hills.
‘It was funny,? laughed Cloutier, ‘by the end of the phone call they were asking me to remind him about his appointment. We called him up and he came running over to pick it up.?
Karan Mehta said he was shocked when a strange man called him and said he had found his wallet in the bottom of Lakeville Lake.
‘I was amazed that they found it in the bottom like that,? he said. ‘It was a one in a million chance.?
Mehta had been over by Lakeville Lake boating and wakeboarding with friends on June 29. He didn’t even realize his wallet was missing until the next day.
‘We came back and looked through the house, we checked everywhere in the area we had been. I figured it was gone,? explained Mehta.
‘I just want to tell them thank you. This has been the luckiest thing to ever happen to me. I just really thank them and can’t believe this,? he added.
‘The kids said ‘If there’s anything I can help you with,?? described Cloutier, ‘and I just said, ‘No, I’m just glad we could return it.??
‘We were just glad we could do it,? added Verajon. ‘What are the chances of me hooking something like that. I still can’t believe it.?