Four Years Later: Goose Hunter's Jacket, Wallet Returned

A story out of Clara City, Minn., proves—according to the goose hunter involved—"there's still good people in the world."

The tale begins in autumn 2009, when Owen Schipnewski took his 12-year-old son goose hunting at the Lac qui Parle Wildlife Management Area. After the hunt, Schipnewski accidentally put his favorite goose hunting jacket in the back of the truck. Somewhere along the way home, the jacket—which contained Schipnewski's wallet and $1,700 cash—blew out of the truck. Frantically he retraced his steps, but the jacket was gone.

Gone because it had been found by Trent Jorgenson, who discovered it along the road after he too had been waterfowling. Jorgenson gave the jacket a cursory glance, noted it contained a few 10-gauge shotgun shells, and threw it in his vehicle. He never found Schipnewski's wallet, so he figured there was no way to track down the jacket's rightful owner. Given that Jorgenson is only an occasional hunter, he put the jacket in his garage, where it sat unused all these years.

That is, until some friends invited Jorgenson to once again hunt ducks. There was rain in the forecast and, lacking appropriate gear, he remembered the waterproof jacket he found four years prior. However, this time when he inspected the jacket, he found Schipnewski's cell phone, his son's hunter safety certificate, and a wallet containing five $20 bills and several $100 bills.

Jorgenson began calling saved numbers in Schipnewski's cell phone and soon tracked him down. He says he was never tempted to keep the cash because, according to the West Central Tribune, he believes that would've been "bad karma."

An elated Schipnewski drove to Jorgenson's home to pick up the jacket. Despite Jorgenson's protests, Schipnewski left him with enough cash to buy a jacket of his own.

HT: The Outdoor Pressroom