CROYDON, N.H. (AP) -When Ken Dandeneau lost thousands of dollars he had taken from a safe deposit box in January, he and his wife figured they’d never see it again.

But when Ken Blanchard dug it out of a snowbank this month, he never considered keeping it.

The money was to buy a house, and Dandeneau had it – along with checkbooks and a credit card – in a briefcase. His wife put it on the roof of their car, thinking he couldn’t miss it. He did, of course, and it fell off sometime after he drove away.

The couple launched a frantic search, eventually posting fliers in the neighborhood and offering a reward.

Fast-forward to Wednesday afternoon, when Blanchard, who retired from Sturm Ruger in 1997, went for a walk in front of his home on Route 10. It was a sunny day, and Blanchard walked by what he thought was a notebook in a snowbank. On his way back home, it caught his eye again.

This time, he got a shovel and dug it out.

After running it under warm water, he opened it and found two checkbooks, the credit card and a vehicle registration. Then he noticed the side pocket.

“I opened the pocket and found a pile of money a half-inch thick, frozen solid,” he said.

“Wow, that’s a lot of money,” he rememebers thinking.

He said he knew immediately he would turn it in, though he and his wife first discussed whether to try to contact the owner directly or go to the police.

“I was brought up honest,” Blanchard said.

On Thursday, Blanchard took the briefcase to the Newport police, who contacted Dandeneau.

“When the police called, I thought something happened to one of my family members,” Dandeneau said.

The news was much better. Dandeneau went to the police station and identified the briefcase, then gave Blanchard a reward.

Dandeneau said the incident left him with a good feeling about his community.

“It’s nice there are people like him in the world,” he said.

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Information from: Eagle Times, http://www.eagle-times.com (temporary)

AP-ES-03-25-05 0800EST