Four teammates from the Boys Cross Country team jumped into action when they found a wallet at the Oakland County meet at Kensington Metro Park, Oct. 8.
“We went to the bathroom and there was a long line,” said Clarkston Junior High School freshman Hank Grogan. “We were going to another bathroom when Danny Bryne (a senior at Clarkston High School) looked down and saw a wallet on the ground.”
Along with freshmen Tyler Dunn and Danny Billette, they picked up the wallet, peered into it, and found a driver’s license, along with more than $125 in cash.
“There was a car with a door open where we found the wallet,” Billette added. “At first we put the wallet in the door handle. But then thought, what if someone sees it and they are bad people.”
With information gathered from the wallet, they looked for the owner but couldn’t find him. They took the wallet, cash intact, to the event manager.
“We didn’t know if they found the person,” Dunn said. “They took down our names.”
For the students, what to do with the wallet was never in question.
“I didn’t think twice about returning it,” Billette modestly said.
“The first thing that flashed in my mind when we found it was the person who lost it was probably looking for it,” added Grogan. “It is a choice anyone would choose. If it was your wallet, you would want someone to do the same.”
Dunn pointed out his parents helped with the decision because of what they had taught him.
Billette agreed.
“I give my parents all the credit. They raised me.”