A Silt man and his son on a hunting trip near De Beque made an unexpected find last week when they stumbled upon a wallet that appears to have been lost since 1980.

Roger Wade, who lives on Silt Mesa, goes rabbit hunting with his son each year near De Beque.

This year, walking on a dirt road in the Wild Horse area, his son and a friend discovered the tattered billfold on the ground. The cover of the billfold was nearly disintegrated from the elements, and fell to pieces. But inside were several items showing the wallet had survived an impressive amount of time in the open.

Identification shows the wallet belonged to Charles W. Luebbert, a Grand Junction man born March 4, 1927, who lived at 186 Thompson Road.

Wade said he and his son tried to look up Leubbert, but a phone number they had was disconnected.

The website myheritage.com lists a Charles W. Luebbert born on March 4, 1927, who died in 2008 and is buried in Grand Junction Municipal Cemetery.

In the wallet were a small game hunting and fishing license and a calendar from 1980. At that time, his hunting and fishing license showed him to be a Colorado resident of 52 years. A Blue Cross Blue Shield card appears to have been issued in 1979. And a cardiac pacemaker identification card shows he had a pacemaker implanted in 1978.

Another ID shows Luebbert as an employee of the Public Service Co. of Colorado.

For this wallet to have gone that many years out in the elements and still be in that good of shape was amazing, said Wade. “I couldn’t believe we could still make out some of the identification.”