RAINIER, Wash. -- If you bought a cookbook at a yard sale in Rainier, Thurston County on Saturday, Bill Magno would love to hear from you.
The 70-year-old Magno was selling some of his belongings, preparing to join his son's family in Australia. There were some extra items in his kitchen so he donated them to the Freedom School yardsale in Rainier. That's when he realized a cookbook he had been using as a cashbox was gone. It contained more than $6,000 he got from selling his things that he planned to use toward his retirement.
"I didn't have anywhere to put (the money), the banks were all closed," said Magno. "So I just put it in this cookbook. I went to get the book that afternoon and I thought, 'Oh God! I've got all that money in there!'"
In a panic, Magno called the co founder of the Freedom School.
"My mouth about dropped," said Diane D'Acuti. "When we got the call, we came here (to the school) fluffed through all the books hoping something would fall out. It didn't."
For now, Magno is plastering reward posters about town, hoping someone will return the money. D'Acuti encourages anyone who bought books at the yardsale over the weekend to check them out.
"Often if you've been to a yardsale or several yardsales, you put them on your counter and you may or may not look at them for a while, " she said.
As for Magno, he's optimistic someone will return the money.
"I've got enough faith in human nature to think I have a good chance, you know," he said.
If you find the cookbook, call the Freedom School at 360-400-2492 or 360-446-7017.
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