SAUSALITO
One in a million -- Good Samaritan turns in purse full of jewels
Hiker finds tourists' Louis Vuitton bag on park bench
Cicero A. Estrella, Chronicle Staff Writer
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
Shahla Ghannadian cried Sunday for most of the flight home to Toronto. Hours earlier, while sightseeing in Sausalito, her husband lost her Louis Vuitton purse.
But it wasn't just any Louis Vuitton purse. This one contained jewelry worth more than $1 million.
Ghannadian held out hope, but knew the chances of recovering the valuables were slim.
So the phone call from Sausalito police on Monday came as a shocker. San Rafael resident John Suhrhoff had found the purse and turned it over to police with all its contents -- including a Cartier watch, diamond and ruby rings, pearl earrings, necklaces with large diamond stones, and $500 in cash.
"My mom started to cry again and my dad became very emotional, too," Ghannadian's 28-year-old son, Ali Khalili, said of the phone call. "That was a big deal. There are still good people in this world."
Ghannadian had left her husband in charge of the purse for a just few minutes while sightseeing in Sausalito, and he must have forgotten it on a park bench, Ali Khalili said.
Ghannadian realized the purse was missing as the family was at their San Francisco hotel room, preparing to leave for the airport. They rushed back to Sausalito but could not find the purse.
Sausalito police said Suhrhoff found the purse Sunday on a park bench behind a bank on Bridgeway Street.
Suhrhoff took the purse to Sausalito police Monday and asked nothing in return, according to police Sgt. Kurtis Skoog.
"He left his name and address, but not to get a reward," Skoog said. "He said, 'If they want to thank me, here's my information.' ''
Suhrhoff, a 56-year-old respiratory therapist, told the Associated Press he found the purse during a lunch break while hiking.
"Every person I know or associate with would have done the same thing,'' he said about his good deed. "I'm glad to be able to help."
Ghannadian, her husband, Said Khalili, and their two sons had been in the Bay Area to attend the Friday wedding of Ghannadian and Khalili's daughter.
Ali Khalili said his mother was upset mostly because the jewelry had sentimental value. Some of the pieces had been handed from one generation to the next in her native Iran, he said.
"Everyone was upset," Ali Khalili said. "We were just hoping that maybe some good person had come by."
One in a million -- Good Samaritan turns in purse full of jewels
Hiker finds tourists' Louis Vuitton bag on park bench
Cicero A. Estrella, Chronicle Staff Writer
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
Shahla Ghannadian cried Sunday for most of the flight home to Toronto. Hours earlier, while sightseeing in Sausalito, her husband lost her Louis Vuitton purse.
But it wasn't just any Louis Vuitton purse. This one contained jewelry worth more than $1 million.
Ghannadian held out hope, but knew the chances of recovering the valuables were slim.
So the phone call from Sausalito police on Monday came as a shocker. San Rafael resident John Suhrhoff had found the purse and turned it over to police with all its contents -- including a Cartier watch, diamond and ruby rings, pearl earrings, necklaces with large diamond stones, and $500 in cash.
"My mom started to cry again and my dad became very emotional, too," Ghannadian's 28-year-old son, Ali Khalili, said of the phone call. "That was a big deal. There are still good people in this world."
Ghannadian had left her husband in charge of the purse for a just few minutes while sightseeing in Sausalito, and he must have forgotten it on a park bench, Ali Khalili said.
Ghannadian realized the purse was missing as the family was at their San Francisco hotel room, preparing to leave for the airport. They rushed back to Sausalito but could not find the purse.
Sausalito police said Suhrhoff found the purse Sunday on a park bench behind a bank on Bridgeway Street.
Suhrhoff took the purse to Sausalito police Monday and asked nothing in return, according to police Sgt. Kurtis Skoog.
"He left his name and address, but not to get a reward," Skoog said. "He said, 'If they want to thank me, here's my information.' ''
Suhrhoff, a 56-year-old respiratory therapist, told the Associated Press he found the purse during a lunch break while hiking.
"Every person I know or associate with would have done the same thing,'' he said about his good deed. "I'm glad to be able to help."
Ghannadian, her husband, Said Khalili, and their two sons had been in the Bay Area to attend the Friday wedding of Ghannadian and Khalili's daughter.
Ali Khalili said his mother was upset mostly because the jewelry had sentimental value. Some of the pieces had been handed from one generation to the next in her native Iran, he said.
"Everyone was upset," Ali Khalili said. "We were just hoping that maybe some good person had come by."
