‘My stomach dropped’: Woman’s horror at losing $8,000 on way to work

A woman has revealed the moment her “stomach dropped” and why she had to leave work early.

An Australian woman was left panicked and feeling like she might throw up when she realised she’d lost $8,000 on her morning commute to work.

Krystle Mitchell was carrying the large sum because her husband had just sold his ride-on lawnmower from his gardening business.

Ms Mitchell, who lives in Melbourne, explained on X that she planned to deposit the money into the couple’s offset account for their mortgage.

She was waiting for the lift at work and thinking about how she’d have to squeeze in depositing the cash on her lunch break when she realised she couldn’t feel the money in her pocket anymore.

“My stomach dropped through the floor in that moment,” she said.

She didn't realise she'd lost the money until she got to work. Picture: X@Just_Krystle_M

She said her "stomach dropped". Picture: X@Just_Krystle_M

She’d ridden her bike to work that morning, so she knew she must have dropped the cash off on her usual route.

She said all she could think on repeat was, “Oh god, you’ve dropped $8,000, all that money, oh god.”

Despite her horror, she managed to swing into action. She ran back out of the office, retraced her bike ride, and checked any nearby drains.

“I was also secretly hoping in my absent-mindedness at home, I had taken the money back out of my pocket and put it on the bench. I followed my exact route home but I couldn’t see it,” she told news.com.au.

“I turned my house upside down. It wasn’t there. I stopped panicking and I went into process mode.”

Ms Mitchell called the police assistance line and reported the cash missing. She spoke to the building manager of her apartment, who checked the CCTV from when she’d left that morning. He couldn’t see that any money fell out before she left for work.

Everyone was remarkably helpful and kind about the situation. She spoke to a building manager of one of the nearby apartments and he put a blast out to all the building managers in the local area to keep an eye out for it.

“I spoke to the coffee shop owners of the three coffee shops in my neighbourhood, and they said they would speak to customers and see if they hear anything,” she said.

She started posting about it on FB community groups. Picture: X@Just_Krystle_M

She also spoke to the police! Picture: X@Just_Krystle_M

Ms Mitchell said she even posted about the missing cash in local community groups, and several people reached out and said they’d look for cash on their morning walks.

“The support and empathy from people was very comforting because I felt so stupid and reckless and absolutely idiotic that I had left $8000 in my pocket and got on a bike and rode to work,” she said.

“It was probably the dumbest thing I’ve ever done so I was feeling really down on myself.”

Ms Mitchell said she tried to keep her perspective throughout the process. She was worried she wouldn’t get it back because of the cost-of-living crisis, but she “hoped” if the money wasn’t returned, it’d have gone to someone who needed it.

“I had hoped that if I didn’t get it back, maybe God had intended for it to be for someone whose life would be considerably changed by it,” she said.

“My husband and I are conservative spenders and are focused on paying off our mortgage, so this money was to help with that. We know we are lucky,”

She was worried the money was gone. Picture: X

When she eventually worked up the nerve to tell her husband the bad news, she said he was incredibly kind about it. He just sighed heavily and told her not to speak “badly” about herself.

“I mean, come one, how amazing is that?” Ms Mitchell said.

Ms Mitchell felt terrible, though.

The only reason the couple had taken cash from the mower sale was that they’d heard about scams and thought it would be “safer,” and now disaster had struck.

It was also especially heartbreaking because “the money was to go onto the mortgage to reduce interest payments,” and considering the cash rate has held for over a year at 4.35 per cent, every bit helps.

“I went back to work and tried to focus, but I felt sick and like I was fighting to keep tears back,” she said.

“I posted to my X followers that I had lost it. Their reactions were mixed but I think most people felt I wouldn’t see it again.”

A very kind man returned the money. Picture: X@Just_Krystle_M

Ms Mitchell said she was so upset that her boss ended up letting her go home early because she couldn’t focus and suggested she check the house again just in case she’d left it there.

“I went home and started looking again,” she explained.

“I didn’t hear my phone ring, but not long after, I saw a missed call from my husband and a text message saying it had been handed into the South Melbourne Police Station. It was about 4 to 5 hours after realising I had lost it.”

Ms Mitchell said the good news made her cry. She was so elated and relieved that it had been found.

“I called hubby in tears. He laughed and said he couldn’t really understand anything I was saying, and to call him back when the relief crying had stopped,” she said.

“I felt emotionally exhausted, a huge sense of relief but mostly just exhausted for some reason.”

She said the money was handed in by a man named Paul and she said his act of kindness was incredible because no one would have known if he’d just kept it for himself.

“What Paul did was what we should all aspire to be: a good and kind person even when nobody is looking,” she said.

Ms Mitchell said it is proof that there are so many “decent” people out there, and she and her husband plan to offer him a reward for his incredible act of honesty.

Originally published as ‘My stomach dropped’: Woman’s horror at losing $8,000 on way to work