Worker finds, returns thick wallet

Deckhand Ron Martin found and returned a ferry passenger’s wallet containing more than $150 and credit cards early Saturday, May 30.

But when the relieved passenger offered a reward, Martin declined it. That’s partly because he was complying with the policy of the Texas Department of Transportation, he said. Even if that wasn’t TxDOT’s policy, he probably wouldn’t have accepted a reward, he said.

“That’s just the way I am,” said Martin, a Port Aransas resident who has worked as a ferry deckhand for nearly three years. “I’m just here to help people, get people across the ferry.”

Martin found the wallet lying on the deck of the B.L. DeBerry shortly before 2:30 a.m., within a few minutes after it was dropped. But the wallet’s owner already had driven away.

“He had gotten out of his vehicle, and he had his wallet in his lap, or something, and I guess it fell out when he got out,” Martin said.

Martin stowed the wallet away in a safe place on the ferry. About 30 minutes later, the wallet’s owner, a San Antonio man, came back, looking for his property, and it was turned over to him.

“He said, ‘Man, I don’t care about the money, I just want my wallet back.’ ” Martin recalled. “He said he had all his credit cards, his ID, his whole life in there.”

Ferry operations manager Howard Gillespie said he’s proud to have employees as honest as Martin.

“This is a positive thing that didn’t require any special training,” Gillespie said. “He just did the right thing. I applaud his honesty.”

Dan Maddox, a dispatcher with the ferry system, said it’s not uncommon for deckhands and traffic directors to find valuables accidentally left behind by ferry passengers. In addition to wallets, cell phones, jewelry and binoculars also have been found on the ferries, he said.

Not long ago, a man drove away from the ferry landing on Harbor Island with his wallet resting on top of his vehicle, Maddox said.

“Everything in there went spraying everywhere,” Maddox said.

A ferry traffic director walked up and down State Hwy. 361, collecting credit cards, photos and the wallet itself, which had a $100 bill still tucked inside, Maddox said. The motorist later was reunited with his wallet and its contents.

“I learned one thing here,” Maddox said. “Just when you think you’ve seen it all, there’s something else.”