Dry cleaning employee returns $700 to customer who left cash in garment

PASADENA, Texas -- A dry cleaning employee made a lucrative find and was faced to make a decision: return or keep it.

Dana Garza said she sees it time and time again, customers who leave behind things in their dirty dry cleaning laundry.

"We will go to the pockets to make sure there's no ball point pens," said Garza.

But never did she expect to find a wad of cash in a customer's pant pocket.

"Seven hundred dollars fell out. I said, 'wow,'" said Garza.

With no one around, Garza made a decision to try and find the customer and return the money.

"I knew I had lost money. I had not found it," said Richard Brinlee.

Brinlee said he wracked his brain for days, trying to find his wad of cash.

"I pretty much decided it was gone for good. That I dropped it outside or someone had picked it up somewhere," said Brinlee.

Not knowing where Brinlee lived, or his phone number, Garza searched the web to find him. And she did, on his answering machine.

"She said, 'Mr. Brinley, I found $700 and a pair of your slacks,'" said Brinlee.

"He was greatly appreciative. He tipped me $100 for returning it to them," said Garza.

The dry cleaning employee said she's just doing what her heart told her to do. But to Brinlee, the gesture meant much more than $700, it gave him hope.

"So much bad going on in the world these days it's just kind of nice to know somebody really cares and someone's very honest," said Brinlee.