Girls rewarded for returning found money

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FORT COLLINS, Colo., Aug. 24 (UPI) -- Three Fort Collins, Colo., girls received rewards for their honesty in returning $1,100 in cash they found in a park, officials said.

Elise Forzley, Amy Moreng and Claire Hooker, all 13, received acclaim from city police and $100 each from the owner of Plato's Closet, the rightful owner of the $1,100, The Denver Post reported.

"We appreciate what you did," said interim Police Chief Jerry Schiager. "If there were more people like you in the world, we'd all be a little better off."

"They are wonderful," Renee Jelinek, the owner of Plato's Closet, said. "I can't thank them enough, and I'd like to thank their parents for instilling in them the idea to do the right thing."

The girls found the money in a park a little over a month after the Jan. 12 robbery of Plato's Closet.

Chad Allen Mahan, 26, was arrested the night of the robbery, but police were unable to find the money.

"We threw the money on the floor and it was flying around in the air," Amy Moreng said, describing the scene after she and her friends found the missing cash.

"But we knew this wasn't our money, and it would have been a little weird walking around with it stuffed in our wallets knowing that," added Claire Hooker. "So we called my parents."

"We started counting it, and we quickly knew we had to call the police," said Mike Hooke, Claire's father.