COEUR d'ALENE - There went $230 she would never see again.

After all, thought, Jeanne Wolcott, how many people find cash and turn it in?

At least one.

The Athol woman was delighted Saturday to get her lost wallet back - with the remains of her monthly Social Security payment.

Only in North Idaho, she said, would that happen. And perhaps it was a bit of paying it forward for a good deed years ago.

"Where else in God's green Earth could you go and lose $230 and get it back, every penny of it," she said Monday. "I'm very impressed by it."

Wolcott had just finished shopping at the Hayden Walmart on Saturday afternoon when she discovered her wallet was missing. Panic set in.

"I dumped everything out of my purse," she said.

She quickly returned to the store, checking in with cashiers. Any wallets turned in?

The answer surprised her: Yes.

A manager asked Wolcott what the wallet looked like, and what was inside. She correctly answered both questions.

"She handed me my wallet," Wolcott said. "There was $230 in it, just exactly what there was when I lost it. I was just floored."

Even her coupon for $1.75 off an instant breakfast drink at Super 1 was still there

The manager didn't say who turned the wallet in, though Wolcott believes it was her cashier.

She said she lives on a fixed income, and her next Social Security check wasn't due until month's end. She would have been without cash until then.

"That was all the funds I had until the first of the month," she said.

It was her first time losing her wallet, and hopefully her last, she said, laughing.

She loves stories with happy endings, and recounted one from her childhood.

She recalled finding two $20 bills while crossing a street with her cousin in Bishop, Calif. At the time, she was 7 or 8 years old.

But unlike most people, child or adult, she didn't quickly pocket the cash and spend it. Instead, she wandered into a nearby bookstore and asked if anyone had reported losing money. Told no, she still left her aunt's name and phone number if someone reported they did.

Shortly, an elderly gentlemen called inquiring about money that had been found. He had lost the remainder of his Social Security cash, he explained.

"How much?" Wolcott asked.

Forty dollars, the man said. Two twenty-dollar bills.

"That's exactly what I found," Wolcott said.

She and her aunt even drove the money to the man, who was so happy to get it back, he insisted on rewarding her with $5.

"I'm just doing what anybody else would do," Wolcott told him.

The man, about 75, shook his head.

"People don't turn in money when it's lost," he said.

"I do," Wolcott answered.

And as for that $5 reward, she didn't keep it.

"I in turn gave it to my aunt for driving me out there," she said.