Utahns found wallet in a wall from 1970, looking to reunite with owner
Feb 8, 2023, 4:30 PM | Updated: Feb 10, 2023, 10:53 am
The drivers license belonging to a veteran expired in 1979. Photo: Samantha Simone
VERNAL, Utah — After a local restoration company was called to remediate an emergency, they began tearing down walls, leading to a wallet being found in the insulation.
What was once a house in downtown Vernal is now used as a business and was experiencing flooding damage. During repairs, company owners made the discovery.
The driver’s license, which expired in 1979, belongs to Ivan Lamont Hullinger born in 1951.
Further, upon discovery, items within the wallet indicated the owner was a veteran.
Consequently, the wallet ended up in the hands of Samantha and Robert Simone.
“My husband works for the state of Utah as a veterans employment counselor,” Samantha Simone explained. “[My friends who own the restoration company] … were like ‘maybe he knows the guy'”.
Unfortunately, it did not belong to any of Robert’s clientele.
The wallet, to Samantha, is too sentimental to let go, claiming it contains more than just a driver’s license. Specifically, a social security card, a portrait of a baby and other paper documents.
“[The wallet] definitely has a lot of personal items, it’s not just somebodies junker wallet that they lost,” said Simone. “Like this was his in-his-pocket-everyday kind of wallet.”
“We’re just hopeful that we can find the guy… for now it is just at our house in a safe place waiting.”
