A local family's Christmas is likely a bit brighter thanks to the honesty of a Leesburg woman.

Shirley Walgamuth said she never thought of keeping the money - more than $800 - when she found a purse Dec. 13 in the Elder-Beerman parking lot in Warsaw. She tried without success to locate a telephone number for Cassandra Hancock of East Levi Lee Road, Warsaw, and even drove to the Hancock residence in an attempt to return the lost purse. However, nobody was at home and Walgamuth didn't want to just leave it on the doorstep.

On Monday, Walgamuth contacted the Kosciusko County Sheriff's Department and an officer was able to locate Hancock, who was quite grateful to get her purse back despite its condition from being run over by a car.

Hancock apparently left the purse on top of her car while strapping her four children into safety seats and belts, then drove away without realizing it. The purse then fell off the car. Walgamuth said it was obvious that the item in the parking lot was a purse and she stopped to retrieve it right away and looked inside for identification before she noticed the $100 bills inside. "That's a lot of money," she said. "I guess at Christmastime it's not unusual to carry that much money around."

After police returned the purse, Walgamuth said Hancock called her immediately to thank her. "She said I'm her angel," Walgamuth said. While she doesn't see herself as an angel, she said she was "glad to be able to do something good."

"It's a heartwarming story," said Kosciusko County Sheriff Aaron Rovenstine. "It shows that this community has good people in it and we applaud Mrs. Walgamuth's honesty."

Walgamuth, who is on long-term disability, said she refused a reward offered to her by Hancock, but her good deed was rewarded Saturday when she won $76 in a 50-50 drawing at a Christmas party she attended. [[In-content Ad]]