Teen Caught On Camera Returning Found Wallet To Rightful Owner

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) – It was a chance at $1,500 in cash and a run on a handful of credit cards. But where honesty can fail some, the moral compass of Tyler Opdyke came shining through.

“I just really thought about what I would want someone to do if I were to drop my wallet,” Opdyke said. “And then I thought about the house. I thought about the family who lived there."

The 18-year-old was handing out fliers for his uncle's pest control business when he spotted a wallet in the driveway of Melissa Vang's home.

Turns out, her husband accidentally dropped it on his way to his car.

"With that cash, we were planning to go shopping with it for a feast that we had yesterday,” Vang said. “But I had no clue had dropped his wallet or how much cash he had carried and was stuck in there.”

But when Tyler knocked on the door to hand it over, Vang admits she was afraid to answer.

"I don't open my door to strangers, or anyone really that I don't know or recognize. So after he walked away, I checked my camera,” Vang said.

And that security camera showed Tyler flashing her husband's wallet toward the lens before placing it under the doormat and continuing on handing out those fliers – without giving the decision a second thought.

“I went back to go see if the money was still there because if it was, I was going to keep knocking. And that's when Melissa and her two girls came out and we hugged,” Opdyke said.

And at a time when kindness can feel like it's in short supply, this trustworthy teen is a reminder that true character counts.