Virginia family out for ride finds nearly $1 million in road

The bag of money found by David and Emily Schantz which totaled up to nearly $1 million. (Caroline County Sheriff’s Office)

A Virginia family out for a ride to get a change of scenery after being holed up due to the coronavirus found nearly $1 million in two bags lying in the road.

David and Emily Schantz left their Caroline County home with their children last Saturday and drove their pickup truck over what they thought was a bag of trash, then stopped and picked it up as well as another bag nearby, news sources reported Tuesday. The Schantzes tossed the bags in the back of their pickup truck and kept riding, according to Emily Schantz.

Only when the Schantzes returned home did they discover the bags contained money, she said.

“Inside of the bag, there were plastic baggies and they were addressed with something that said ‘cash vault,’” Schantz told WTVR.

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They contacted the Caroline County Sheriff’s Office, which sent deputies to the home. The deputies took inventory and determined the money totaled nearly $1 million.

Caroline Sheriff’s Maj. Scott Moser said authorities have since determined where the money was headed, but are still trying to figure out how it ended up in the middle of a road in Goochland County. Moser would not say specifically where the money was going. But he said he hopes the recipients offer the Schantzes a nice reward.

“Their actions deserve nothing less,” Moser said. “They saved someone a lot of money and set a wonderful example for everyone else.”