11-year-old reunites 81-year-old woman with her purse stolen 30 years ago. Here’s what happened

Maisie Coutts was out for a stroll with her parents near a river when she found Audrey Hay’s bag that was stolen decades ago.

In an unexpected turn of events, a woman was reunited with her handbag after 30 years. As per reports, her purse which was stolen decades ago, was returned to her when a girl found it near a river.

The purse was stolen from 81-year-old Audrey Hay’s workplace about 30 years ago (Representational image). (Unsplash/kevs)

81-year-old Audrey Hay lost the bag from her workplace 30 years ago. It is believed that the purse was stolen and after the thief took out the money, amounting to £200, threw it into the river.

11-year-old Maisie Coutts found it while taking a stroll around River Don, reports the BBC. “I was just walking around with my dog and my mum and my dad and then I pointed out, 'Oh, there’s a handbag'. I said ‘Mum do you want a new handbag?’ Then I said maybe there’s something in it. So then we decided to open it and we saw like a credit card and we saw the name so we were really confused, who is this, are they dead, are they not?” Coutts told BBC Scotland.

Soon after, she and her mom took the help of social media to find its owner. “We got home and saw the name Audrey and I did some research about her, I figured out a bit about her,” Coutts added.

“When we noticed the dates on the cards were all 1993 I thought oh my goodness this has been in the water a long time. I posted on social media and eventually, we did track down Audrey. Audrey confirmed it was her bag and that it was stolen 30 years ago. The power of social media is incredible,” Coutts’s mom Kim told the outlet.

How did Hay react?

“It was stolen, I was out of the office, when I came back in, my bag under my desk had gone. I phoned the police and they took a statement. This wasn’t expected. It’s amazing it has survived. It’s the only bag I have lost,” Hay shared while talking about the incident.

What was inside the purse?

When Hay lost the bag, it had £240, among other things. The money was stolen but some of the things were left behind. The purse contained a lipstick, earrings, a key, coins, tablets, and pens when Coutts found it.