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Source: Photos.com
A 90-year-old war veteran who lost his life-savings after withdrawing them from a bank has been reunited with his money.
The elderly man, who has no close family, removed $23,000 in $100 bills from a Greymouth bank on Friday.
He then went to a local cafe for tea, with his money in a white envelope.
It was unclear what happened after he left the cafe, but police said he became separated from his life-savings.
But this afternoon police found the missing money, which they said was "extremely well secreted at the man's house".
The cash has now been deposited back into his bank account.
Members of the public had made offers to give the man money after hearing of the story.
Constable Deane Harbison said: "Thankfully we won't have to take anyone up on those generous offers of donations, but it is very heartening to see that level of good will."
He said the man was delighted to have found the money.
Earlier, Greymouth police had spoken to bank staff and reviewed CCTV footage from the bank and surrounding areas.
Harbison had appealed to members of the public to help solve the mystery.
He said at the time that the money is "everything the man has" and he would "dearly" like to return it to him.
"I'm hoping that if someone has found the envelope they will bring it to the police station," he said.
"Failing that, if a member of the public or a business owner notices someone paying for goods with $100 notes, we'd like to hear about it."
He had reminded the public that failure to return found property was an offence.