Wallet found buried underground returned to owner after 20 years- with bank cards still in it

TALK ABOUT a blast from the past.

There's no worse feeling than losing your wallet-- the drop in your stomach as you pat your pockets and realise there's nothing there; your cards, money, ID, license, all vanished.

It's happened to all of us at one point. Sometimes you find it, sometimes you get it back-- more often than not with the money missing, but beggars can't be choosers-- but sometimes it just seems to have vanished into the abyss.

Less common is losing your wallet and getting it back more than 20 years later-- but that's exactly what happened to one lucky Dubliner.

In the year 2000, a hapless person reported their wallet was missing to Gardaí, but the years passed without a trace, and it's more than likely the person moved on, bought a new wallet, cancelled their cards and forgot about it.

But on Tuesday, 24 August 2020, someone found it-- buried underground-- and handed it in to Gardaí in Tallaght Garda Station.

According to a Garda spokesperson, the wallet "appeared to have been buried a long time", but a bank card and student ID was still intact, and Gardaí were able to track down the original owner.

The bizarre story went viral, and garnered hundreds of comments from people-- many sarcastic or humorous, with one person stating "Saint Anthony is losing his touch".

"There's still a chance Shergar will be found then," another wrote, while one person, tagging his friend under the story, said "This must be your wallet, it's been 20 years since you bought a round!"

One woman, Ber O'Farrell, shared her own, similar story.

"I found a wallet thrown in my hedge approx 12 years ago," she wrote.

"Cards with name on, and photos in it. No money. Handed it in to local garda barracks, it turns out it was stolen in Dublin from a lady with an address in Belfast while she was holidaying in the capital.

"My hedge is in a country area around Youghal, Co Cork!"

So the next time you misplace your purse or wallet, take some time before you cancel your cards-- it might just show up in 20 years or so!