THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, February 19, 1997 TAG: 9702190382
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LIZ SZABO, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: 68 lines
Basabi Ganguly had just come from the bank, where she had withdrawn $150 in cash and removed $3,000 worth of jewelry from a safe deposit box.
She planned to wear the gold jewelry at a family wedding in New Jersey. In preparation for the weekend trip, she had packed her driver's license, checkbook, credit cards, house keys and safe deposit box keys into her handbag.
It was the worst possible time for her to lose her purse. But in her rush she drove away with the handbag on top of the trunk of her car.
She might never have seen it again if Royce Ellis of Smithfield - a stranger - had not happened to be in the neighborhood.
Ganguly, a New York native, had little faith that anyone would return her property, even if it were found.
But as luck would have it, Ellis noticed a lane of cars swerving around a small object in the road and thought at first it could be an animal. When he recognized the object as a brown, leather bag, he was afraid to pick it up at first, fearing it could contain an explosive.
But when he opened the purse and saw the gold jewelry glittering inside, he knew he had to return it to the owner. It never occurred to him to keep the purse.
``I'm like most people. I'd like to win the lottery like anybody else. But I don't want a penny of anything that don't belong to me,'' Ellis said. ``I knew how my wife would feel if this happened to her and how worried she would be. It was just the natural thing to do.''
Ganguly went to the wedding in spite of her loss. It was only later - in the middle of the night - that she realized that decision could have cost her dearly.
``I thought, `Oh, we should come home, because the house keys were in there,''' Ganguly said. ``I felt just empty inside. I couldn't sleep all night. I was totally lost. Everything, my whole life, was in there.''
Ganguly did not know what she would find when she returned home Sunday night. For all she knew, thieves could have cleaned out her entire house. Instead, she found telephone messages on her answering machine from Ellis.
After finding the purse Friday, Ellis, a building inspector for the city of Chesapeake, had driven to Ganguly's house and waited on her front steps for two hours, hoping to return the bag. He then drove by the house no fewer than three times Saturday, and twice Sunday, still trying to find her.
``I wanted to see her in person,'' said Ellis, adding that he was concerned something worse had happened to Ganguly. ``I didn't want to just hang it on the door and leave it, because something might happen to it.''
Ganguly called Ellis immediately after hearing his answering-machine message. He returned the purse the next day. ``I am so lucky it was him who found it and not someone else. All my wishes came true,'' Ganguly said. ``I think in my whole life I will never again meet another person like this. I am so glad that I live in Chesapeake, where someone like this works.''
Ellis told Ganguly he did not want any kind of reward.
``He said I could just call his boss and tell him what a good guy he was,'' Ganguly said.
But Ganguly did more than that. She also wrote a letter of commendation about Ellis to the city manager. ``When he came back with it yesterday, I couldn't speak,'' she said. ``He is such a wonderful person, I don't know how to show my gratitude.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
L. TODD SPENCER
Basabi Ganguly drove away from her Chesapeake home before going on a
a trip, leaving her purse on the car's trunk lid, as shown. It fell
off and luckily was recovered by a stranger, Royce Ellis of
Smithfield, who tried all weekend to return it to her. He left a
message on her telephone answering machine that he had found it.