He Says He Found It : $4,000 Buys Boy 4 Days of Frolic

If you’re a 13-year-old boy, and you just happen to find $4,000, what then?

Well, in this case, according to police, the lad ran away from home, went on a buying spree for skateboards, beach clothes and other such paraphernalia, and fortified himself with enough junk food to withstand four fun-filled days at Disneyland.

“When you’re 13 and you find that kind of money, well, . . . what more can you ask for?” Costa Mesa Police Detective Paul Cappuccilli said Tuesday.

The boy, a Garden Grove resident whose name was not released because of his age, was eventually turned over to his parents last week after he and a man he met at Disneyland took a cab to a Costa Mesa car dealership and asked employees there to call police.

Police said the boy told them he had been having problems at home when he found a wallet on a bus bench in Garden Grove containing $4,000 in cash on May 13.

“He told us he had been thinking of running away and I guess this just pushed him over the edge,” Cappuccilli said.

The boy’s parents did file a missing child report with Garden Grove police, he said.

After he found the wallet, the youth said he walked to a motel near Disneyland and checked in, paying for a week’s stay in cash.

Anxious to visit Disneyland, which he did on a daily basis, the youth stocked his motel room with needed provisions, including peanut butter cups, dry-roasted peanuts and beef jerky, according to police.

“He was set for a few days. It wasn’t really nutritious, but he was ready,” Cappuccilli said.

With shelter and food taken care of, it was time to shop. The youth bought two new skateboards, a camera and film, the detective said. When police found him, he was wearing a sporty new T-shirt, the latest in beach shorts and a new pair of Reeboks.

As for the unidentified man who accompanied the youth, Cappuccilli said they met at Disneyland and the youth eventually explained that he found the money and then lost it. The boy filed a lost-property report at Disneyland, Cappuccilli said.

“He also told the man he had run away. And for some reason, they came to a car dealership in Costa Mesa. The man told the employees at the dealership to call police and he left,” Cappuccilli said.

Cappuccilli conceded that he had reservations about the boy’s story. But officers did find his cache of junk food and newly bought items.

“This kid did pay cash for a week’s stay in the motel and that was about $35 a night, so he had the cash for that and for the things he bought,” Cappuccilli said.

In addition, Disneyland’s regular admission price is $21.50, “so he had to have hundreds of dollars. Whether it was $4,000 as he said, we don’t know for sure,” the officer said.

Cappuccilli added that he has queried other Orange County police departments to see whether anyone reported a burglary or the theft of a large amount of money.

“I didn’t get a response. Until I get a response, I’ve got to believe” the boy’s story, he said.

Cappuccilli said the youth appeared in good health, although he “may need a dose or two of castor oil after four days of eating junk food.”