Police seek owner of $3,300 accidental donation

Costa Mesa police are seeking to return $3,300 in cash that was left in a donated coat.

On Sunday, a man in his mid-40s dropped off various clothing items at the First Step House of Orange County, a men’s recovery home on Charle Street in Westside Costa Mesa, police said in a news release Thursday.

The man told a First Step House employee that he was donating the clothes on behalf of a friend. He did not leave any identifying information before driving off in a white work van.

The employee did a routine inspection of the clothes and discovered the cash inside a coat. The employee then contacted police, believing the money was not intended as part of the donation.

Police are asking for the public’s help in contacting the donor. Detectives can be reached at (714) 754-5205.

—Bradley Zint

Twitter: @bradleyzint