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Hunters find wallet lost in 1980 near De Beque, looking for owner

Ryan Summerlin
rsummerlin@postindependent.com
Here are the contents of a wallet apparently lost around 1980 near De Beque.

A Silt man and his son on a hunting trip near De Beque made an unexpected find last week when they stumbled upon a wallet that appears to have been lost since 1980.

Roger Wade, who lives on Silt Mesa, goes rabbit hunting with his son each year near De Beque.

This year, walking on a dirt road in the Wild Horse area, his son and a friend discovered the tattered billfold on the ground. The cover of the billfold was nearly disintegrated from the elements, and fell to pieces. But inside were several items showing the wallet had survived an impressive amount of time in the open.



Identification shows the wallet belonged to Charles W. Luebbert, a Grand Junction man born March 4, 1927, who lived at 186 Thompson Road.

Luebbert would be coming up on 90 years old this year, said Wade.

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He and his son have not yet determined the owner’s whereabouts or whether he’s still alive. His phone number had been disconnected, said Wade.

In the wallet were a small game hunting and fishing license and a calendar from 1980. At that time, his hunting and fishing license showed him to be a Colorado resident of 52 years. A Blue Cross Blue Shield card appears to have been issued in 1979. And a cardiac pacemaker identification card shows he had a pacemaker implanted in 1978.

Another ID shows Luebbert as an employee of the Public Service Co. of Colorado.

For this wallet to have gone that many years out in the elements and still be in that good of shape was amazing, said Wade. “I couldn’t believe we could still make out some of the identification.”


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