There may be something for everyone to learn from a recent incident involving the possible theft of $70 from a young boy.

The boy, who lost money he had saved up while shopping with his mother, may learn the importance of taking care of valuables.

The woman who allegedly picked up the boy’s money but then denied knowledge of it may learn that “finders keepers” does not apply in a court of law.

The boy and his mother were shopping at Dollar General off Highway 31 in north Clanton on April 21 when he laid his money on a shelf, according to a police report.

After realizing the cash was missing, the mother asked a fellow shopper if she had seen the money, and she said she had not.

But surveillance video footage from the store shows the boy appear to place the money on the shelf, and shortly thereafter, the suspect appear to take something off the shelf and place it in a pocket.

Clanton Police Department posted part of the video on its Facebook page in an effort to determine the identity of the suspect, and the approach worked.

CPD Capt. David Clackley said the suspect visited the police department on Tuesday and gave her side of the story.

Clackley said the victim’s mother will decide whether to take the case to Clanton Municipal Court.

“If we hadn’t had the video, nothing probably would have come from it,” Clackley said. “The victim still might decide she doesn’t want to do anything.”

If the case goes to court, a misdemeanor conviction could result in a combination of restitution, fine and probation.

The suspect could be convicted under a section of Alabama Code dealing with “theft of lost property.”

According to the code, “a person commits the crime of theft of lost property if he actively obtains or exerts control over the property of another which he knows to have been lost or mislaid, or to have been delivered under a mistake as to the identity of the recipient or as to the nature or the amount of the property, and with intent to deprive the owner permanently of it, he fails to take reasonable measures to discover and notify the owner.”

Clackley said he thinks many residents may have a misconception that such an act is not illegal.

CPD sees numerous cases of cell phones, wallets and cash mistakenly left at gas stations and grocery stores.

Clackley said someone who finds such an item should at least make an attempt to return it to its owner by notifying the business or police.

If the owner can not be identified or located, the item’s finder has the right to keep it.

“Stuff like that happens, and if you do it the right way, no one gets in trouble,” Clackley said. “In this case, the lady was given an opportunity to return it to the owner, and she didn’t.”