February 21, 1997


Finder not keeper, returns wallet


ROBERT MOHL
Herald News Editor

	ROANOKE RAPIDS -- Case closed.
	Seventeen years after it disappeared from her purse, Sandra Felts got her
wallet back.
	The navy blue lady's wallet with a gold clasp was stolen from her purse in
1980 while she was working at Perry's Ice Cream Bar in the Plaza Shopping Center
on Weldon Road.
	Felts, then 19, never reported the theft to the police.
	"I didn't think. I just forgot about it," said Felts, now 36.
	Jump ahead to Tuesday, Feb. 18, 1997.
	While remodeling the old MasterCraft building in the same shopping center,
David Pernell made an amazing discovery.
	His water heater was busted.
	"I was trying to find out why the water heater wasn't working," said Pernell,
49, of Gaston. "It's hidden up above the bathroom."
	While exploring the dusty space, Pernell found the wallet and tossed it into
the bathroom below. He didn't give it a second thought until hours later, when
his repairs were done.
	"It was kind of like finding a treasure in a way," said Pernell who decided
to reunite the wallet and owner.
	One problem: Felts, who has remarried, was called Sandra Marshall on her
driver's license.
	"It was kind of hard to track her down," said Pernell, who finally called the
WPTM-FM morning show to announce his discovery.
	Fortunately Felts is a loyal listener and called the station. The next day
Felts and her wallet were reunited.
	The wallet is in good condition and still had $30 hidden away in different
pockets. It also had her first driver's license, senior picture and family photo.
	Plus a book of stamps, which in those days were 15 cents each.
	"Even if there was no money in it I'm thankful for it," said Felts.
	"She was tickled to death when I found it," said Pernell.