Axarquía women hand in 3,000 euros found while out walking

Torrox residents María Josefa Atencia and Encarni Fernández like to take a walk together in the late afternoon when the heat cools down. On Wednesday 5 July they set off, as usual, from the Pontil area of the town towards La Almedina. But as they passed a square next to the local health centre and the courts, they found a plastic bag full of documents in a plant pot. "I put my hand in and touched something soft, and that's when we saw that there was a lot of money," explained Fernández, 57, a housewife and mother of two.

"At that moment you don't think about it, but what doesn't belong to you, you don't keep," she said, explaining why it didn’t occur to either of them "at any time" to keep the 3,000 euros that were inside. "I could have used it, but I'm not capable, that's a crime", said Fernández, who said that night "I had a really bad time, thinking that it could be stolen or fake money, or that there would be a hidden camera recording us.”

But none of that happened. After going to the local police station, the officers located the owner of the loot, who turned out to be a businessman from Malaga, who has asked to remain anonymous. However, on the day the money was returned to him, he promised he was going to give the two women a present, to whom he said he was "deeply grateful".

"We have done it from the heart, it is not necessary for them to give us anything as a gift", said Fernández, for whom the money found in the street, in cases like this, "can be cursed money if you keep it".

Police sources consulted by SUR confirmed that keeping money found in the street constitutes a crime of misappropriation. In these cases, officers keep the money until they can prove its ownership and the same applies to lost valuables.

When it is handed over to the police, the person who locates it is asked if they renounce their possible rights if the owner cannot be found. If after two years no one claims it, it is given to the person who found it.

Torrox local police have highlighted "the honest and exemplary action" of these two residents of Torrox, whose attitude "is worthy of mention and recognition". The mayor of Torrox, Óscar Medina also joined in the praise, highlighting their honesty in “delivering the money to the police station". He added, "I am very proud of them".