The passenger had one foot in a floatplane at Vancouver International Water Airport in Richmond when transit supervisor Todd Hancock appeared with his lost wallet.

It was the culmination of a frantic search for the 24-year Coast Mountain Bus Company veteran that began at Bridgeport Station when Jinder Gill, a transit operator, turned the wallet in to Hancock.

Understanding the importance of reuniting a lost wallet with its owner, Hancock tried what he could from his vehicle after calling it in to T-Comm. He tried searching the owner’s name online, hoping to find a phone number, to no avail.

“I thought if I contact him in some way to let him know we have his wallet then that could offer some sort of relief,” says Hancock. “Takes a little bit off his mind.”

He then received a call about a bus needing attention at the airport and headed that way. After taking care of the bus, some quick thinking by Hancock made the reunion possible.

“I thought that since the wallet had come off our C92 [which operates between Bridgeport Station and Sea Island South],” says Hancock. “Maybe by chance the Seair or Harbour Air locations had a customer looking for their wallet.”

Hancock asked the attendant at the Seair counter if someone matching the name found in the wallet had come through. Sure enough there was.

“A woman behind me said that he was just getting on the seaplane,” Hancock recalls. “One of the staff members let me through the gate and we both ran down to the dock. We were yelling the passenger’s name.”

At last the lost wallet was reunited with its owner.

The passenger was ecstatic that his wallet had been found. Passengers aboard the floatplane also thanked Hancock by giving him a big round of applause.

“When people lose their wallet, it’s not about the money. It’s having to cancel cards and the potential of ID fraud. I felt good about him getting it back.”

What do I do if I left something behind transit?

Visit translink.ca/lostproperty and fill out the form to report what was lost, and we’ll see if someone has turned it in. You can also visit the Lost Property Office at Stadium–Chinatown Station, Monday to Friday (8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.) and Saturday (12 p.m. to 4 p.m.), or call them at 604.953.3334, Monday to Friday, between 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

What can I do if I find a lost item on transit?

You can turn it in to our transit staff and we’ll make sure it gets to the Lost Property Office so it can be reunited with its owner.

Find out how transit operator Nigel Clare reunited an iPad with its owner.