She got her cold, hard cash back

Last July, Magda Castillo of New York City's Kew Gardens decided to update her kitchen. She arranged for folks at Atlantic Recycling to take away her old Frigidaire refrigerator, but forgot one thing. She'd hidden her life savings, $5,020, inside the door for safe keeping. "I live alone, and to me, that's the best place to put my money," she said. The next day she rushed to Atlantic Recycling and explained what happened. The truck driver hunted for the fridge, but could not find it among piles of scrap metal. She assumed the money was gone forever. "When I remembered I left my money in there, it was too late," she said.

                                                                                                         Joe Marino/New York Daily News
But she was wrong. Soon after she left, another Atlantic Recycling employee, Mike Downer, showed up and vaguely recalled where her fridge might be. He found it squished between two cars; pried it open, and out fell two bags of cash. Nobody at the recycling firm knew exactly how to find Castillo since she did not leave her name or address, so they alerted the media. When she saw her story on the news, she was thrilled. Downer said it never occurred to him to keep the money. "I'm just glad she got her money back so she can pay her mortgage," he said. Castillo gave him a kiss, and pressed $300 into his hands as a thank-you. She also opened a bank account.