A Staten Island couple says they unearthed a box of buried treasure right in their own back yard.
Matthew and Maria Emanuel say they were excited after finding a rusted, rotting metal box buried in their back yard, while they were having trees planted. When they looked more closely, they realized it was a safe, which they were able to open. Inside, there were valuables worth more than $52,000...cash, gold, diamonds, and jade. Also inside, there was a note or piece of mail with a Brooklyn address on it, that they recognized as being related to their neighbors. So the Emanuels went to their neighbor's house and said: Were you ever robbed?? The neighbors said, 'Yeah, we were robbed back in 2011, and a safe was stolen from our house.' The Emanuels confirmed the story with the police--and then said: We found your safe in our backyard...AND RETURNED it!!
When people asked the Emanuels why they returned the safe, they said: 'It wasn't ours!'
The theft was blamed on the notorious Ninja Burglar, who was responsible for more than 150 burglaries on Staten Island.