The gentle rhythm of the waves, the warm sand under our feet, and the simple joy of beachcombing—these are the treasures we often seek at the shore. Sometimes, it’s a perfectly formed seashell or a driftwood shaped by the ocean.
We’ve all heard the saying, ‘finders keepers, losers weepers.’ But what happens when the sea offers something far more surprising than a mere trinket?
A curious twist of fate has turned a typical day at the beach into a mystery, leaving locals wondering about the origin of an unusual discovery.
Authorities are investigating the discovery of a mysterious bundle of cash washed ashore on the south coast of New South Wales (NSW).
Locals were shocked and excited when they spotted a bag filled with cash floating in the water at Kendalls Beach in Kiama around 1:20 PM on 20 March. The NSW Police confirmed that officers responded to a report regarding the money from a woman at the beach.
Anna Tydd, a regular visitor to Kendalls Beach, recounted that she arrived to find an unexpected number of people in the water.
‘They’re swimming for money,’ her friend Ian exclaimed, equipped with goggles, emerged from the surf.
Ian and the other swimmers surfaced with rolled-up $100 bills. Some of them had around $1,000 each.
Tydd said the locals were uncertain whether the money was linked to drug activity or counterfeit. She reported the situation to the police. NSW Police confirmed that an investigation was underway.
Under NSW law, the concept of ‘finders keepers’ is not as straightforward as it may seem. If you find money and fail to return it to its rightful owner, you could be charged with theft or larceny. This is particularly true if the amount is significant, as was the case on Kendalls Beach.
Larceny by finding, under the Crimes Act 1900, is penalised with two to five years of imprisonment.
Anyone with information is encouraged to contact Lake Illawarra Police Station or Crime Stoppers at 1800-333-000.
How do you think the money ended up in the water? Was it an accident, a crime, or something else entirely? And what would you do if you found yourself in a similar situation? Let us know in the comments below.
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Hand it in as soon as possible after taking careful note of how much and it’s a good idea to record the note numbers. If it is not claimed within a set period (I think that 3 months is the period in at least one State), you can then claim it.
If the notes were dispensed through an ATM, there will be records buried away somewhere as to when and where that occurred. From this the Police could get a fair idea as to whether it was possibly the proceeds of crime, or about to be.
The marine growth on the packaging will give a good idea about how long they’ve been in the water and a reasonable guess as to where they’ve drifted from. Recall that within the past few months the Authorities intercepted an attempt to bring in a cocaine consignment worth several million dollars whilst many kilometres out to sea from Bundaberg. Those involved were working entirely with cash, so a few thousand here or there was literally pocket money.