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Shawnigan Lake student finds stolen police badge during garbage pickup

Matthew Edgson discovers missing emblem during a hike with his class at St. John’s Academy
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St. John’s Academy student Matthew Edgson poses for a photo with a police officer who came to recover the found badge. (Courtesy of Bradley Myrholm)

Garbage pickup may not seem like an exciting task to many students, but it was for one class at St. John’s Academy in Shawnigan Lake.

Grade 6 student Matthew Edgson and his class were clearing garbage from the trail on their way back from a hike up Mt. Baldy when a piece of plastic in a ditch caught his eye. He went to pick it up and found a wallet vacuum-sealed in plastic wrap.

“It was pretty thick, so he was excited thinking he’d found a whole bunch of cash,” teacher Bradley Myrholm said.

But after opening it, Edgson and his classmates were surprised to find a police badge, some permit papers and credit cards. Myrholm called a friend at the West Shore RCMP who ran the badge number and discovered it had been reported stolen in 2014. Police sent someone to pick up the wallet and exchanged a gift with Edgson.

“It definitely makes it more exciting picking up garbage, sometimes you can find something that someone really needs,” Edgson said.

The plan is to get more classes out hiking now the weather has started to improve, Myrholm said.

“If anything it’ll be great motivation to get the students out again.”

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bailey.moreton@goldstreamgazette.com

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