Florida man returns fanny pack stuffed with $30k after discovering treasure in Wawa bathroom

By WILKO MARTÍNEZ-CACHERO, US REPORTER Published: 06:38, 25 May 2026 | Updated: 06:45, 25 May 2026 A Florida man who found $30,000 stuffed in a fanny pack inside a Wawa bathroom made the kindhearted gesture to return the five figure sum to its owner in need. Luis Salavar, 58, had just pulled off the highway around 8.50am on May 3 to use the bathroom at the convenience store in Riviera Beach, about one hour north of Miami. Salavar spotted a black fanny pack on the bathroom's handicap bar. Inside was slightly more than $30,000 in cash, according to a Riviera Beach Police Department report cited by the Washington Post. The money belonged to a 24–year–old man, who planned to use the proceeds from selling his Pokémon collectibles to pay for an undisclosed medical procedure for his sister. Salavar, a construction worker, said he looked for the owner all over Wawa but was unable to find him. Meanwhile, the man called law enforcement and caused a grand theft investigation to be opened into the fanny pack's disappearance. That led police to Salavar, who told them that he had actually been trying to return the money, not take it. Salavar said: '$30,000 is great, but it's not mine to keep. I like to earn my money.' Luis Salavar (right) returned more than $30,000 in cash to a 24-year-old man who was planned on using the money to pay for his sister's medical procedure Construction worker Salavar, 58, said the $30,000 were not his to keep and that he liked to earn his money The man said he did not realize he had forgotten the money in the bathroom until he was already driving south to Coral Springs. 'I thought I was absolutely screwed,' he told the outlet on Sunday. Salavar said he had looked through the fanny pack trying to find the owner's identification. However, what he found were $50 and $100 bills, leaving him stunned. 'My heart just dropped,' Salavar told the outlet. Salavar explained that he did not trust Wawa employees or law enforcement to return the fanny pack to its rightful owner. That was why he tried to track him down himself, remembering that the man had dark curly hair with distinct beige sandals. Salavar was identified by police on May 7, four days after the fanny pack was lost, per the police report. The Riviera Beach police coordinated for him to come down to a police station and return to the cash to the 24–year–old. 'This is yours,' Salavar told the man. 'You're a lifesaver,' the owner replied. Salavar said he looked all over the Wawa in Riviera Beach but could not find the man who forgot the fanny pack in the bathroom The owner caused Riviera Beach police to open a grand theft investigation which was later closed as a lost property case instead The fanny pack's owner checked that all the money was still there at the station, which it was. He gave the cash to his sister a few days after regaining the money. Police concluded that the incident was a 'lost property, not a theft,' according to the report. The fanny pack owner has attempted to buy Salavar dinner, which the latter has generously declined. 'I just did the right thing,' Salavar said. 'I don't need to be put on a pedestal.' The owner previously said he was 'astonished' at Salavar's kindness. 'That's life–changing money,' he told WPBF. 'People would kill for that kind of money.' 'I guess maybe there's just more good people in the world than most people think,' he added. 'You never know who you'll run into, and Luis is just one of those good people.' The Daily Mail has reached out to the Riviera Beach Police Department for further comment. The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.