Her billfold was found with everything inside. And she met Daniel Volk.

“He’s very special,” Cowan said. “He definitely impressed my heart and the Lord has definitely assured me that he does take care of us and I’m happy for that.”

Cowan, who has been staying with relatives in the Tonganoxie area, lost her billfold early last summer. She said she had been at the Tonganoxie City Library and at the Subway restaurant that day.

When she discovered her billfold was missing, she called the library and stopped by the restaurant. She even went back to a yard sale she’d been at. And she contacted the Tonganoxie police department.

But Cowan had no way of knowing it would be about seven months before her billfold would turn up. And during those months she worried that it had wound up in the wrong hands — leaving her vulnerable to identity theft.

Though the billfold didn’t have credit cards in it, it did contain Cowan’s driver’s license and her Social Security number, as well as about $80 in cash and photos of her grandchildren.

“I just prayed that someone would find it,” Cowan said.

Fast forward to February.

Cowan’s sister, who lives in Oklahoma, received in the mail a package containing Loretta Cowan’s billfold.

Along with the returned billfold was a letter from THS junior Daniel Volk.

Daniel said he — literally — ran across the billfold about six weeks ago. He was jogging on a country road when he saw a maroon billfold off the side of the road.

“It was in bad shape,” Daniel said.

But he decided to take a look.

Inside he saw money, along with the driver’s license and Social Security number.

“I went down another mile to a friend’s house and we looked over it,” Daniel said. “All the money and stuff was stuck together, so I took it to the bank and they had me dissect part of the money.”

He was told if he could produce part of the face and both serial numbers, the bills would count as full bills.

Of about $77 that had been in the billfold, Daniel and his friend recovered $60.

Because the driver’s license listed Cowan’s Oklahoma address, Volk, who is the son of Tim and Pam Volk, mailed the billfold and the contents, including the $60 in recovered cash, to that address.

And last week, Cowan was thrilled when her sister called her from Oklahoma and told her about a package that was in her mail.

“It’s amazing,” Cowan said, with a smile on her face and tears in her eyes when she met Daniel on Friday. “Sometimes we don’t give our young people credit when credit’s due,” Cowan said to Daniel. “And you definitely showed that you’re a man of integrity and willing to do what the Lord wants you to do.”