Lori Mittag is a volunteer and lives in Kenwood.
It was a stormy morning when three brave kayakers set out to collect trash along the east side of Lake of the Isles.
Rob and Julie White are regulars at this noble task and, this time, brought along their neighbor, Jeff McNaught. Something unusual caught Julie’s eye while she was filling three large bags of trash.
In her words, it was “bobbing up and down” in the water. It turned out to be a coin purse — a very soggy, very gross one.
Elizabeth Shaffer and I happened to be on shore for the East Isles cleanup when Julie tossed the purse up to me.
Elizabeth and I opened it, and the sleuthing began. Inside were a number of credit cards, coins, Toyota keys, a Medicare card and $200 in waterlogged cash.
The credit cards bore the name “Karla Thompson” and had expired in 2021. There was no driver’s license, but it was easy to guess that Karla was over 65 (Medicare card) and that the purse had been in the water at least four years (expired credit cards).
Elizabeth searched online and found two possible matches. I called the first one listed, a 69-year-old woman living in Plymouth. Jackpot — it was she!
Karla explained that she had lost the purse in 2020, during the pandemic, while kayaking on Lake of the Isles. She was thrilled to have it back, especially since it had been a gift from her sister’s trip to Turkey.
The best part? The purse was made out of cork — which explained why it kept bobbing. Karla no longer owns the Toyota, but she is $200 richer, with extra money to buy beers at the Vikings game, where she was headed with her sister.
