After months of investigations, the City Council of Bastrop, Texas, has decided to let a homeless man named Timothy Yost keep the $77,000 worth of cash and collectible gold coins that he found by the Colorado River earlier this year, Fox 7 News reports.
"It means everything to him. He has a whole future ahead of him. He has the opportunity to make plans and have a real future," Aleta Peacock, Yost's attorney said after the City Council's announcement.
Yost was washing his feet in the river this January when he spotted the bag full of $100 bills and Kruggerand coins (gold collector coins from South Africa worth more than $1000 each) in a Bastrop park.
The homeless man had brought the cash -- which was wet -- to a bank to trade them in for dry bills. But the bank teller, thinking that a crime might have been committed, called 911.
The loot was quickly seized and a lengthy investigation began.
According to KVUE.com, Yost has been fighting to reclaim his find from the city ever since.
This week, after a long period of uncertainty, Yost will finally be reunited with the money.
Bastrop police, with the help of the FBI, have determined that the bag is not linked to a crime and the rightful owner has not been found.
Reminiscing over the challenges he's faced as a homeless man, including having to eat out of a garbage can, Yost told Fox 7 News that he is keen to start a new chapter in his life -- complete, of course, with a few new purchases.
"I've been walking for so long, the first thing I want is a vehicle," he said.
Yost was unfortunately not present when the City Council made its announcement as he is currently in county jail on a public intoxication charge. The Fox 7 News report also stated that Yost was imprisoned for criminal trespass -- a typical charge against the homeless.
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