The Rusted Box
Sitting in the Emanuel family’s backyard, right near the edge of their fence was a random box. This box had not been touched or moved in a very long time seeing as it was covered and rust and absolutely filthy. The box was covered in poison ivy and so nobody had even bothered to touch it or look inside. The Emanuels had even considered throwing mulch on it to cover it up, but little did they know this box held the mystery of a lifetime.
Stormy Weather
It was actually natural elements beyond their control that had brought the family to open the mysterious box and see what was inside it. It was the tough winter storms in early 2018 that had been particularly harsh on their property. Heavy snow had caused the trees that had been lining the fence to fall over. Soon after, roaming deer came by and they were eating all the plants that remained. However, the house’s biggest mystery, which had gone unseen for years, was now out in the open and ready to be discovered. When spring finally came around, the family realized that they couldn’t leave the garden in that state. So, what would the family do about it?
At Their Fingertips
This box had always been just a glance away. The odd rusted square in their backyard was visible from almost visible from every window in their home, and they never thought much of it. The box was simply one of those things that didn’t command any attention and the family had just pushed it to the corners of their mind. However, now there was no reason to avoid the box any longer.
Garden Renovations
The damage that the storm had done to the family’s backyard meant that the family would have to redesign and construct everything from scratch once more. However, this meant that the family would have to once again work around the mysterious box that sat in their backyard. However, this task proved to be too much for Matthew himself. So, Matthew Emanuel decided to look for help from an expert landscaper. When he found a landscaper that best suited the family’s needs, he decided to call them up and make an appointment. What he didn’t realize was that this call would set in motion a chain of events that would change everything.
Bamboo Bob
The landscaper, Robert Foley, who went by the name of Bamboo Bob, made the trip to Staten Island in late April 2018. He had a ton of experience working across New York and New Jersey, and he had certainly seen his share of bizarre things throughout his career. However, despite all the wild and random things that had occurred to him throughout his career, he had certainly never seen anything like this. Matthew Emanuel’s property was probably the wildest discovery he had ever seen in his whole life.
Work Begins
Matthew’s plan to restructure the garden was to put a very small thicket of bamboo surrounding the side of the backyard. This was a great idea since the deer would leave it alone and it would act as a wall to give the family some privacy. As Bamboo Bob and his crew began to work on the property, it was natural that they would all come across the rusted box. When he asked about it and tried to understand the story behind it, Matthew’s response was a surprising one.
Unearthing The Mystery
Bamboo Bob had seen and been in a plethora of backyards, so he had seen some bizarre things. However, this mystery intrigued him so much to the point that he needed to find the purpose behind it. Other than that, the box had been getting in the way of the crew’s work. Matthew told the landscaper that he had always just assumed that the box had been an electrical cabinet attached to the fence on the property. Well, he was soon to find out that he couldn’t have been more wrong. What Bamboo Bob and his crew were about to find would change everything.
The True Identity
Bamboo Bob and his crew excavated the box from the dirt and they managed to loosen the stiff box from the soil surrounding it. It was then that the crew discovered that this ‘electrical box’ was not that at all. Their assumption had been proven wrong. Together, the men turned over the mysterious and heavy box to examine it more thoroughly. They assumed that it had been thrown in the trash or thrown away. However, it was then that they discovered something intriguing.
Not Just a Box
The box had a fairly big dial on it, and it was obviously a safe of some sort. Bamboo Bob and his team quickly showed their findings to Matthew Emanuel and the homeowner was completely confused and shocked. This entire time, he and his family had just assumed it was something to be overlooked. All those years, there had actually been a locked safe in their backyard that had been abandoned and now, overgrown. Now the obvious question that was going through all their minds were, what was inside it?
Guessing Games
The safe was two feet across, one and a half feet in height, and about 100 pounds. Despite its weight, Matthew now had to know what was inside this box that he and his family had ignored for years. As Bamboo Bob and his crew stood by in the garden watching, Matthew attempted to shift the rusted box around as best as he could. He wondered if he might hear the jingling of change from inside it.
Breaking It Open
Nobody could hear what was inside the safe, but of course, that didn’t mean that it was empty. With the help of Bamboo Bob’s crew, they lifted it up and carried it to the front deck of the house to look at it some more. As the landscapers finished up their work in the garden, Matthew’s focus was elsewhere. He decided to take a pickaxe and smash the safe to break it open. What he saw inside sent chills down his families spines.
An Absolute Treasure
Matthew and his family couldn’t believe their eyes. The safe had stacks of hundred dollar bills and each pile was about three inches thick. There were also very small plastic bags that were filled with chunks of gold, jade, earrings, jewels, and diamond rings. Matthew and his family were in shock. They could not believe that they had come across a fortune right there amongst the fallen trees of their backyard. However, there was a huge problem with all these riches.
Water Damage
Even though Matthew had uncovered the true purpose behind the box in his backyard, he had been too late. Although the safe was large and heavy, it wasn’t waterproof. Many of the bills that were inside the safe had been damaged and wet. The stacks of cash were squished together and they all realized that if they were to try and tear them from each other, they would probably just fall apart. However, the surprises were far from over.
Saving The Treasure
So, Matthew immediately got to work tearing the bills apart from each other and then letting them aside to dry. The entire project took him several days. Some of the bills could be salvageable, but it would take a lot of hard work to see how many of the bills there actually were. As Matthew soon discovered, he wouldn’t be able to save a very big portion of his newly found treasure. Unfortunately, some of the dollar bills were too ruined to be used. However, as all the bills dried, he realized how much he had in his midst.
Counting The Cash
Either soggy or whole, Matthew still counted all the contents within the old safe. There was about $5,000 worth of bills that had been too damaged and couldn’t be saved. But, there were some that were in better condition. The bills were a little faded, but he had about $16,300 in his hands of cash that could be used. Now that the riches had been counted, the mystery still wasn’t over. There was still more for them to discover about the safe and Matthew was about to make a shocking discovery about the safe and the contents inside it.
Acting On Suspicion
Even though it was incredibly exciting to have found a real-life treasure, Matthew had a suspicion that it wasn’t a coincidence that this box had just been left in his backyard and forgotten. Many people would have just kept their findings and the riches for themselves. But Matthew actually had an idea that the reason behind this mystery was a very dark and sinister one. As he continued to go through the contents of his safe, he got his answer.
All That Glitters
The next thing Matthew had to do was to count up the amount of jewelry and riches that were stored in the safe with all the money. The amount of gold that were left in the safe was an incredible amount. Matthew needed to take out his kitchen scale just to be able to count it all. As he measured all the jewelry and took inventory of it all, he came across something else very surprising. Inside one of the plastic bags was a piece of paper that would change everything entirely.
The Next Clue
Matthew put all the jewels aside to focus on his newest discovery. What he found inside was a curled up paper with an address on it. He immediately searched the address on his found to find out where it led. It could have been a number of things, but he assumed that the address was the address of the people who’s jewelry had been in the safe. He was sure that no criminal would leave their own address along with their stash. Well, what he found left him completely shocked.
Under His Nose
As it turned out, to Matthew’s surprise and thrill, the address written on the paper stashed in the safe wasn’t that far from their location. It was so close in fact, that they wouldn’t even need a car to get there. Not only was the location on Staten Island, but it was in the same neighborhood as the Emanuel’s. More than that, he realized that he happened to pass by this home everytime they went out walking. Matthew then knew exactly what he had to do.
On A Mission
Matthew Emanuel couldn’t keep this incredible news to himself, especially not after they had discovered the note. On April 30, 2018, two days after discovering the safe in his backyard, he decided to take a walk over to the written address. He didn’t know who would end up answering the door, or what the conversation would be like. He thought to himself, if this went wrong, he would probably have to even get the police involved. Regardless of the risk, he knocked on the door.
A Strange Introduction
Matthew had absolutely now way of knowing what to expect at this encounter. An elderly woman ended up answering the door, and Matthew introduced himself and cut right to the chase. Matthew then asked the woman a very strange question. He asked her, “Have you ever been robbed before?” Then, right before his eyes, the woman began to shake. She had either been terribly upset or extremely excited, and Matthew was very ill-prepared for her next reaction.
Confirmed Crime
The elderly woman was surprised by the question that he had asked her. She was still trembling as she confirmed what Matthew had asked, she had been robbed. The painful memory resurfaced negative emotions as she explained herself. The night after Christmas 2011, a burglar broke into her home. When she and her husband had realized what had happened, the criminal was already too far along with $52,000 worth of money and jewelry.
