Murray Wanstrath and Leonard meet outside the Caddo building in Lakewood. Photo by Murrey Wanstrath.
On Friday, March 1, Lakewood resident Murrey Wanstrath began his weekend with bad news: his truck was stolen from the parking lot of Hillside Tavern, he said. And to add to the vehicle loss, a brand-new laptop was in the backseat.
Although the truck is still missing, Wanstrath’s faith in humanity was restored but a stranger named Leonard.
Five days after the incident, a random number continued to call Wanstrath without leaving a message, leading him to be reluctant to answer.
A few rings later, the unknown caller eventually left a voicemail about a found laptop, but Wanstrath thought it was a scam. Despite his hesitancy, he heard the man out and discovered how the stranger, Leonard, found his laptop.
Leonard, who lives off Park Lane, said he found the beat-up laptop in the Underdog restaurant parking lot off Skillman Street and Abrams Road.
The screen was broken. Leonard hooked it up to a monitor, found Wanstrath’s name on the home screen and began googling him to find his contact information.
“Luckily, my name is not very common. If my name was Bill Smith, I probably would not have gotten my laptop back,” Wanstrath said jokingly.
Wanstrath suggested the two meet up so he could get his laptop and thank him in person, but Leonard being the kind person he is, insisted on bringing the laptop to his work at the Caddo office space.
Leonard grabbed Wanstrath’s laptop, hopped on his bike, and headed nearly six miles to Lakewood.
“I was like, ‘Wait a second, rode your bike? .. From down the street?’ he goes, ‘No, I live in the apartments by the Top Golf,’ … it’s unbelievable,” Wanstrath said in disbelief.
After snapping a photo together and getting to know one another, Wanstrath said he was incredibly thankful for Leonard’s kindness and for returning his laptop.
“He’s just a really nice guy and mentioned he had some identity theft issues, and it caused him some problems, and just wanted to make sure I got my laptop back.”
And don’t worry, Wanstrath wasn’t going to let his new friend ride his bike back home, he called an Uber.
