Daughter Of CBS4's Mike Hooker Honored For Turning Over Stolen Loot

FORT COLLINS, Colo. (CBS4) - What would you do if you found $1,100 sitting in a open field? Three teens turned the money over to police and it turned out to be stolen loot.

One of the teens who was honored for turning over the money was 13-year-old Claire Hooker, the daughter of CBS4's Mike Hooker. Claire's friends Amy Moreng and Elise Forzley, both also 13, were also honored.

"When Elise found the $100 bill, that's when I really knew. I was like, 'We found some serious money here,'" Claire said.

"At first we just it was like $100 or something," Elise said. "We weren't really thinking, we were just grabbing."

"I was throwing it up and we would dance in it," Amy said. "It's like a fantasy that you never get to do. You don't even know how much money it is. You're just like, 'Oh, I'm dancing in a lot of money.'"

But instead of quietly going on a spending spree, the girls told their parents about their amazing find.

"As we talked to our parents we began to understand that this wasn't our money to keep," Claire said.

"Thinking about it, if you lost $1,000 plus, you'd want it back," Elise said.

At the Plato's Closet store in Fort Collins there was a robbery in January. After the teenagers found the cash, police went back to the money field and found more money, a fake gun, and a mask -- evidence that eventually led Chad Mahan to plead guilty to armed robbery at the clothing store.

Fort Collins Police Chief Jerry Schiager presented the girls with a letter of appreciation.

"To have some young people that made a really good choice, it's inspiring," said Renee Jelinek with Plato's Closet.

"Thinking about it now, it's like, if we kept that it wouldn't be as right as it is now," Elise said. "So much more good has come out of it than just having a bunch of money."