(CNN) Rhami Zeini was driving home from school when he spotted a black purse in the middle of the road.

The 16-year-old Santa Barbara, California, high school junior opened it -- and discovered more money that he'd ever seen in his life: $10,000.

Unable to find the owner's phone number, Rhami told his parents. They drove him to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office.

There, a watch officer was able to locate the owner and return the money.

"To me, I figured this is the right thing to do," Zeini told CNN affiliate KCOY . "If the roles were reversed and I had lost something with a significant sum of money inside, I know I would want it back for sure."

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