Kari Vallden seeks to atone for taking a lost wallet 58 years later

Kari Vallden, a 79-year-old man in Finland, has attempted to make amends for an incident that occurred 58 years ago. In 1968, while at a telephone booth in Lahti, the then 21-year-old found a wallet containing approximately 280 Finnish marks, a sum equivalent to about 500 euros today.

Vallden admitted to taking the money and discarding the empty wallet in a sewer rather than seeking the owner. Despite returning to the scene shortly after, he lacked the courage to rectify the mistake at the time.

Following a life that included studying economics, working for a state IT center, and participating in three international peacekeeping missions, Vallden decided to settle the matter. He calculated the modern value of the money and added a symbolic amount, totaling 850 euros. Because he was unable to locate the original owner, he donated the funds to the Shelter and Protection Center for Women and Children in Lahti. He expressed a continued desire to find the owner or their family to convey his sincere regret.