Charity tracks down owner of $7,500

GLEN CARBON -- It took a little fancy footwork, but a Goodwill store in southwestern Illinois has tracked down the owner of $7,500 found mistakenly donated with some shoes.

A newcomer to the United States from Bulgaria found the money earlier this month on her first day at the Goodwill store in Glen Carbon. Teodora Petrova then turned over the money to management.

The cash was found in a shoe box, bundled in large denominations.

A worker tracked down the family through various hints on several scraps of paper left in the box. At the same time, the donor apparently had called the Goodwill office, figuring he was the source of the cash.

The man had brought in shoes that belonged to his recently deceased parents.

The family has offered Petrova a gift for turning over the money.