The owner of an Iowa comedy club discovered a wallet that had been missing since 1944 while renovating the property. Larry Sloan was able to return the wallet to Clare McIntosh, 85, who was able to confirm that he lost the wallet 71 years ago. Screen capture/KCCI/Inform

NEVADA , Iowa, Feb. 23 (UPI) -- The owner of an Iowa comedy club managed to reunite a 71-year-old wallet with its owner after it was found stuck in the club's rafters.

Larry Sloan, owner of the Talent Factory Theater in Nevada, discovered the wallet while making renovations to the theater which was built in 1928.


"It was plastic, so the first thing that came to my mind is this must be a child's wallet," Sloan told KCCI. "I had no idea how old it would be."

The wallet contained several worn out photos as well as a pocket calendar dated 1944 and one clue that gave Sloan some insight into the owner's identity.

"I was really shocked to find a hand-written ID card. It indicated the owner was Clare McIntosh of Colo. In case of emergency, to contact Mrs. R.E. McIntosh of Colo," he told the Ames Tribune. "And his telephone number was 8. I get a kick out of that every time I say it."

Sloan, used his skills as a former investigator to track down McIntosh in order to return the wallet that had been missing since McIntosh was 15.

McIntosh, 85, initially thought the call was a joke, but eventually met up with Sloan and confirmed that the wallet was indeed his.

"Clare said, 'I haven't lost my wallet,'" Sloan said. "But when I asked him if he had lost one long ago, he asked me if the one I found was plastic. A plastic wallet was a very special thing at that time."