California teenager goes the extra mile to return wallet with huge amount of cash inside

What happened?

Tyler Opdyke was distributing flyers for a pest control service in an Elk Grove, California, neighborhood recently when he came across a wallet in a driveway. When he opened it, Opdyke discovered $1,500 cash stuffed inside, according to KXTV-TV.

The 18-year-old kid was suddenly faced with two options: keep the money and save it for college or return the wallet to its rightful owner. What he did next is going viral.

What did he choose?

Opdyke felt compelled to return the wallet. Except, it appeared at first the owner didn’t want it.

The wallet belonged to Melissa Vang’s husband. But when Opdyke rang her doorbell to return the lost item, Vang was home alone with her two young children. She chose not to answer the door, which bewildered Opdyke.

"I was knocking on the door for a minute or two. I actually heard her little girls...and was wondering why is nobody answering?” Opdyke told KXTV. "I’m like how can I find some way to let them know that I have this [wallet]. I was like 'perfect, here's a camera right there.’"

Did it work?

Once Opdyke held the wallet up to the surveillance camera, Vang immediately recognized what it was.

"I was like, 'that's my husband's wallet!’” Vang said.

However, once Vang realized what the mystery man at the door wanted, she realized he was long gone. Fortunately, Opdyke left the wallet on her doormat.

"It touched my heart for him to return this much cash,” Vang later told the station.

What drove Opdyke’s decision?

Even though he will soon leave for college, Opdyke said he never doubted which decision he would make.

"I've been raised in the church all my life and I just felt this is not mine,” he said. "I don't know their family. I don't know what they're going through."

The teenager also told the news station that while he has enjoyed some attention, returning a lost wallet to its rightful owner — with all of the cash still stuffed inside — is just the right thing to do.

Vang, however, still gave Opdyke a reward for his kindness.