$1,200 Stimulus Check Lost in Garbage Returned to Recipient

A car wash employee in Greenville, North Carolina, discovered a $1,200 stimulus check in the trash and made sure it was returned to its intended recipient.

Antonio Hernandez was taking out the garbage at Evans Street Car Wash when he discovered a check along with a bill with the recipient’s address, Hernandez’s daughter Michelle Alvarado told Newsweek.

Alvarado said her father asked for assistance in tracking down Charles Thompson, the recipient of the check, and wanted to get the money back to him as soon as possible.

“He told me in the phone call that he must’ve accidentally thrown [Thompson’s] check away but he never had seen it was a check,” Alvarado said. “He told me that it was amazing that my dad found it and that there are not many people that would do such thing.”

Thompson’s girlfriend eventually responded on social media, and Alvarado managed to ship the check to him.

“I never thought I was going to get a check, because of moving in the past year and my address not changing, and out of the blue, Michelle told me she found it at this car wash,” Thompson told WITN.

Thompson, an Army veteran, said it was a miracle the check found its way back to him.

“From my old apartment to the trash can to a great person like Michelle Alvarado and her father finding it,” he said, “and Michelle doing the leg work to find me, I mean, what else do you call that?”

Thompson said the check would enable him to catch up on rent and get by while construction work remains inconsistent.

Alvarado said she and her father were glad to help.

“It was very important for him to receive that check. Especially in these uncertain times, of course, we would have given it to him,” Alvarado said, “and we’re very happy that he has the check now.”