$6,000, computer returned to owner

The former chief executive officer of a fast-food restaurant chain, who accidentally put $6,000 and a laptop into the wrong vehicle on Sunday, was reunited with his possessions Monday.

The finder, who wanted to remain anonymous, saw television news reports about the missing money and dropped off the backpack containing the missing items at the Kalispell Police Department on Monday night.

“They had no responsibility to do the right thing, but they did this out of the goodness of their hearts,” Kalispell Police Chief Roger Nasset said of the owner of the mistaken vehicle.

The grateful wife of the former Burger King CEO gave the Kalispell Police Department and KCFW TV  $8,000 between them to donate to a local charity.

Nasset said the organizations haven’t yet decided where to donate the money.

“We are researching a couple of opportunities,” he said. “We want to find people who are really deserving and needy at this time.”

The ex-CEO, who had traveled from Miami, Fla., to visit family in the Kalispell area, was staying at the Holiday Inn Express on Sunday when he inadvertently put a backpack containing $6,000 in cash, a Macintosh laptop computer and other personal items into the wrong vehicle.

His rented blue sports utility vehicle, parked in the hotel parking lot, was close to another vehicle that looked identical.