Just about everyone has dreamed of digging up a buried treasure in their backyard and finding riches beyond their wildest imagination. For most people, though, it can never be anything more than just a dream. However, for Matthew Emanuel, living on Staten Island, this dream became reality in a way he never could have expected.
A Well-Hidden Secret
Matthew had lived in his house in Todt Hill, Staten Island, for several years with his wife and son. During that whole time, there was an old, rusty box sitting in his yard in plain sight. It had been there since before they moved in, so Matthew and his family had no way of knowing its origins.
A Rusty Box
Matthew had never even considered trying to open it and see what was inside, as he assumed that it was just an old electrical cabinet. And he had never moved it either, worried that it would affect the flow of electricity to his house if it was still working. Instead, he had covered it up with wood shavings, and let it become overgrown with brambles. Little did he know, one day that box he had thought so little about would completely change his life.
A Sudden Storm
Four years after Matthew and his family moved into the house, a huge storm hit. The storm ended up practically destroying the Emanuels’ garden, and after that wildlife had managed to get in and nibble on the remaining plants, which caused even more damage. When spring rolled around, they decided it was time to renovate and fix the damage the storm and animals had created. So Matthew made an appointment with a landscape gardener to help with this task.
The Beginning
The landscaper – named Robert Foley, but nicknamed Bamboo Bob – had been in his profession for a long time, so the work Matthew requested would be a walk in the park. He had certainly seen a lot of strange things over the course of his job, but even he could never have imagined what was in store when he found the rusty box.
A Hidden Mystery
Of course, before he did anything else, he went to Matthew to ask what he should do with the box and what it was for. Matthew told him it was likely just an old electrical cabinet. Since it was in the way of his work, Bamboo Bob decided to dig it up – and that’s when he got the shock of his life.
An Unexpected Discovery
Upon digging up the box, Bamboo Bob realized it was actually not an electrical cabinet at all – in fact, it looked more like an old safe, complete with a dial for a combination lock. This was completely different from what Matthew had told him. Still, he could have easily just assumed there would be nothing of value inside, and disposed of it without letting Matthew know how wrong he had been. But luckily for everyone, his curiosity won out.
To Open the Safe
Bamboo Bob immediately went to show the box to Matthew, who was just as surprised. This safe had been sitting in his yard for four years, and he hadn’t even realized what it was. It was only thanks to the storm and Bamboo Bob that he ever discovered there might be more to it than what he had thought. It had taken four years to find, and there was no more time to waste. It was finally time to open the box he had ignored for so long.
A Valuable Treasure
With some help, Matthew moved the box to his porch so he could try and figure out how to get it open while the landscapers continued their work. Finally, he managed to break it open – and he couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw what the contents were. Inside the safe were huge stacks of hundred-dollar bills, along with several valuable-looking gems and pieces of jewellery, kept in plastic bags.
Unlucky Water Damage
Unfortunately, the safe was not waterproof, and the years it had spent untouched and half-buried in the ground had not been kind. The jewellery was luckily in decent condition due to being protected by the plastic bags. However, the bills were not in the best shape, and many of them were stuck together. If he wanted the money, Matthew would have to pull the bills apart individually to try and save as many as he could.
To Save the Treasure
The task was incredibly tedious and took hours, and many of the bills were sadly beyond saving. Even after Matthew did his best to save all of them, around $5,000 worth of bills were lost forever. However, the amount of money that Matthew was able to recover was much greater – just over $16,000, in fact. And he hadn’t even begun trying to estimate the value of the jewellery yet!
Another Mystery
Matthew could have stopped there, of course – taken the cash, sold the jewellery, and become rich. He could easily have just taken it as a great stroke of luck, and nothing more. But he couldn’t help but wonder about the origins of the safe and its contents – and after some searching, he found his answer.
Close to Home
As he was inspecting and weighing the jewellery to try to discern how much it was worth, he discovered a piece of paper in one of the bags. That paper had an address on it – an address within walking distance, in Matthew’s own neighbourhood, and even one that he had passed by several times when walking his dog! He had never expected that the answers could be so close by.
The Old Woman
Matthew knew what he had to do. He knew it could be dangerous, that the address could end up being the home of a violent criminal or some such person – but he had to know more. So he went to the house and rang the doorbell, with no idea what to expect. As it turned out, all of his worries were for nothing. An elderly woman was the one who opened the door in the end. Matthew immediately introduced himself and asked her if she had ever been robbed. He wasn’t prepared for her response at all.
A Past Crime
The woman started shaking at the question – clearly very upset – and answered that yes, she had in fact been robbed. In 2011, a burglar had broken in and stolen about $52,000 worth of jewellery and cash from her. The thief was in and out before she even realized he was there, and there was nothing she could do to stop him.
The Ninja
Even though Todt Hill had a reputation of being a safe neighbourhood, crimes still occurred from time to time. When this particular burglary happened, for example, there was a fairly well-known thief – named Robert Costanzo, with the nickname Ninja – who was terrorizing the locals. Ninja had been active from 2005 to 2015 and had robbed at least 200 houses in the states of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. Thankfully, he was caught in 2015 and sent to prison to atone for his crimes.
Is This It?
Unfortunately, even though justice was served in the end, many of the victims were never able to recover what Ninja had stolen from them. Matthew couldn’t help but wonder if that was the case in this situation as well – if Ninja was the one who had taken the woman’s valuables, and had then hidden them in the safe in his yard, only for Matthew to find them years later.
A Small Hope
Of course, Matthew couldn’t just sit back and do nothing when faced with a story like that. He offered the woman a chance to come to his house and look at the contents of the safe to see if it was really hers, and she agreed. When she got to Matthew’s house and saw the treasure, she burst into tears.
Lost and Found
It was indeed all her possessions that had been stolen so long ago. She had completely given up hope that she would ever see any of it again – and yet here it was in front of her, years later. The events that seemed like a complete coincidence had led to this woman being reunited with all these items she had thought was lost forever. Matthew could hardly believe all this had happened over the course of a few days. It felt like much longer than that – and it had all happened because of that storm that had ruined his garden, and Bamboo Bob’s curiosity.
A Happy Ending
Matthew returned the valuables without hesitation. The woman, incredibly grateful for his assistance, offered him a reward, but he refused. He was content just to have done a good deed and felt he didn’t need compensation. All he wanted was to hope that his kindness would be repaid one day when he needed it – truly a heartwarming story.