A lost wallet and an unlikely encounter leads to friendship

BROWN COUNTY, Wis. (WBAY) - We all know what it feels like to lose something important. There is usually a sinking feeling followed by a frantic search, but for one Green Bay woman, losing her wallet led to a new friendship brought together by unlikely circumstances.

It’s a Friday night and Lanie Brasure has decided to take her best friend out to eat at Texas Roadhouse in Ashwaubenon.

“So we go in and make a reservation and then we go to the car and with my health issues. I decided you know to run a McDonald’s to get something to drink,” said Brasure.

However, when Brasure got to McDonald’s, she noticed her wallet was missing.

“I started like panicking and felt like my heart was like pumping out of my chest,” said Brasure.

Brasure’s wallet had everything inside, including a social security card, insurance card and almost $400. They went back to Texas Roadhouse, but the wallet was nowhere to be found.

“I didn’t think it was gonna come back,” said Brasure.

Brasure filed a police report with Ashwaubenon Police Department and then went to El Serape to eat. While eating, she got a phone call from the Green Bay Police Department.

“Somebody found my wallet and dropped it off and I start crying,” said Brasure. “He said, ‘there’s quite a bit of cash in here too’.”

Police aren’t allowed to say who returned the wallet, so Brasure made a Facebook post on Green Bay Crimes Report. It was ‘liked’ over 4,000 times, shared almost 700 times, with more than 100 comments because everyone wanted Brasure to find the good Samaritan.

“You know, hoping it would get out to her,” said Brasure.

Brasure didn’t have any immediate luck with the post, in fact, all the stress caused her pancreatitis to act up and she went to Urgent Care.

While sitting in the room, a woman walked in to talk to her.

“She’s like I’m the nurse that found your wallet,” said Brasure. “And I break down and start crying emotionally, like very hard, but it was like happy cries … all I wanted to do is meet her and thank her myself. I never thought I was gonna see her and I never expected to meet her that way.”

It just so happens that the woman who returned the wallet, Elizabeth, was called into work last minute. On her way out, she saw Brasure’s name on the board, recognized it and decided to say hello.

“She was telling me that when she went to Texas Roadhouse, so many people saw my wallet, but didn’t pick it up. She decided to go up to it … grabbed it, decided to eat, and then turn it into the police after,” said Brasure. “But I think it’s insane how people walked over it and never picked it up. I think that was God’s way of saying, ‘Hey, no it has to land in the right person’s hands.”

It did land in the right person’s hands and now they are friends.

“She’s amazing for what she did. She’s like my hero,” said Brasure.