(INSIDE EDITION) - A Virginia man was shocked to learn he has $266,174 waiting for him in a long-forgotten bank account.
The astonishing discovery was part of INSIDE EDITION's campaign to help people find unclaimed funds in long-forgotten bank accounts or safety deposit boxes across the country.
INSIDE EDITION's Lisa Guerrero tracked down the man, Larry Hill, in Virginia Beach to surprise him and his daughter with the good news.
"We have a hidden treasure that we'd like to share with you," Guerrero told him. "Would you like to open this and see what it is?"
His daughter helped him rip open a huge envelope.
"Whoa! Holy mackerel!" he said as he saw the huge sum.
It turns out that Larry's treasure is from a long-forgotten business bank account held by an elderly relative. He said he hopes to use the money to set up a college fund for his daughter.
"You never know if money is there, and I'm living proof," he told INSIDE EDITION as Norfolk's Downtown Sound band helped him celebrate the life-changing news.
Piles of unclaimed treasures are locked inside the State Treasurer's vault in Richmond, Virginia. State Treasurer Manju Ganeriwala says there is $1.7 billion waiting to be claimed - sometimes in the form of jewelry or family heirlooms. She tells INSIDE EDITION she hopes to give back all the unclaimed funds, and says the most they have paid an individual is $2.3 million, and to a business entity, they paid $1.9 million.
INSIDE EDITION went to Norfolk, Virginia and, with assistance from the State Treasurer's Office, helped passersby find out if they had hidden treasures.
One woman had just $16.98 waiting for her. But one man, who turned up after seeing a local news report that INSIDE EDITION was in town, found out there was $558 waiting for him. Another guy got news a family member was owed $2,300.
The INSIDE EDITION "Hidden Treasure" limo has been traveling across the country all September to help viewers find out if they have unclaimed treasures.
Could you be next? Find out if you have hidden treasures here.