A family from Utah may need to figure out how to get their shredder to higher ground. They also need to brainstorm on how to replace more than $1,000 in cash that their 2-year-old son sent through that shredder.
Ben and Jackee Belnap said they had been saving up cash to pay Ben’s parents back for University of Utah football season tickets. The parents had $1,060 in an envelope ready to go, when that envelope disappeared over the weekend. The Belnap’s started searching the house.
“I’m digging through the trash and she hollers and says, ‘I found it,’” Ben said. “She’s holding the shredder and she says, ‘I think the money is in here.’”
Jackee said their 2-year-old son, Leo, is familiar with their shredder.
“Leo helps me shred junk mail and just things with our name on it, or important documents we want to get rid of,” she said.
Leo apparently sent the envelope through the shredder sometime when they weren’t looking.
“We just, for like five minutes, we just shuffled through it, not talking. We didn’t know what to do and then I broke the silence and I’m like, ‘Well, this will make a great wedding story one day,’” Jackee said.
It turns out the couple might not be out all that money. There is a government office that deals with mutilated cash.
“I called the guy the next morning and he said, ‘Oh, we might be able to help you here,’ and I was shocked,” Ben said. “He said, ‘Bag it up in little Ziploc bags, mail it to D.C., and in one to two years, you’ll get your money back.’”
By the time they get their money back, Leo will be four and probably won’t make that mistake again. Until then, it’s probably best to get that shredder on a shelf out of reach.
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