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Wallet missing since 1990 found hidden in wall at Newport News library

Posted at 1:14 PM, Apr 07, 2016
and last updated 2016-04-14 16:14:30-04

Newport News, Va. - A Newport News woman recently got a call delivering some VERY unexpected news!

In 1990, Cynthia Hayslett lost her wallet while attending a magic show at the Grissom Library with her two young children. After realizing her wallet was missing, Cynthia assumed she would never see it again.

Fast forward to April 1, 2016 when Cynthia got a phone call from Izabela Cieszynski, Director of Libraries and Information Services for the City of Newport News.

Cynthia Hayslett and her lost wallet

Cynthia Hayslett and her lost wallet

Cieszynski found Cynthia by Googling her name and finding her Facebook page. On the Facebook page, Cynthia listed her employer, so Cieszynski gave them a call and was able to reach out to Cynthia directly.

Cynthia says when she saw that she was getting a call from the library, she just assumed it was for a late book fee.

"There must be a book fee. I must have a book at home that I never returned. I wonder if my son did something," she says.

Cieszynski told Cynthia  that her wallet had been found hidden in the wall at Grissom Library!

The library is currently undergoing renovations, including updating staff and public restrooms, as well as switching the meeting room and staff work room, which involves tearing down walls. The wallet was found in between the drywall.

Cieszynski, who has been director of the Newport News Public Library System for over 30 years, remembers that magic show at the Grissom Library and also remembers that there was construction going on at the library during that time.

Though it's still unknown how the wallet got into the wall, it can only be assumed that it had been stolen, the money removed, and then the wallet was discarded where the thief thought no one would find it.

Cieszynski invited Cynthia  to come to the Library Administration Offices in City Center to retrieve her wallet.

Within just a few hours, Cynthia  arrived with her husband Barry to pick up the long-lost wallet! Inside the wallet, she found her driver's license, credit cards, store membership cards, and photos.

“At the time it was lost, our daughter was in diapers and now she’s 24,” Barry reminisced.

“I think about it all of the time—it was so surprising to me that it was found. My first thought was ‘I hope the bulldog pin is in there,’” Cynthia added.

Mack-Truck-Bulldog-Pin

Bulldog pin

Before the couple started dating, Barry gave a Mack Truck bulldog pin to Cynthia.

“I had taken some Mack Truck classes and got that pin,” Barry said. “She liked it and I said ‘it’s yours.’”

And lucky for them, the pin, though now unrecognizable, was found in the long-lost wallet. The couple plans to take it to a jeweler in hopes that it can be restored.