NEW YORK ( CNN ) -- Nearly 27 years ago , amid a crowd of people in Central Park , Ruth Bendik 's wallet was stolen . The culprit is still at large , but the wallet has been found -- in the hollow trunk of a cherry tree . Nearly 27 years ago , amid a crowd of people in Central Park , Ruth Bendik 's wallet was stolen . The wallet was snatched on October 24 , 1982 , while Bendik , now 69 , was in Central Park watching the New York marathon . She went to greet runners at the end of the race and , `` when I got out of the crush of people , I realized my purse was much lighter , '' Bendik told CNN . `` I was just so grateful not to have been harmed . '' Last week , Josh Galiley , tree-care supervisor for the Central Park Conservancy , was chopping down a hazardous black cherry tree near Rumsey Playfield when he discovered her blue leather wallet in the trunk of the tree , which he estimates is around 65 years old and 50 feet high . `` I started poking in the soft stuff and this wallet turned up . Having been that low in the tree ... the location indicated it had been there for quite some time , '' Galiley told CNN . The old wallet was a unique find , he said . `` When you 're cutting a tree and it 's hollow , you expect stuff inside , shreds of material , old marbles , really just knickknacks compared to this , '' he said , `` Nothing with a story . ... We peeked in and there were dates from the early '80s . We figured this was different . '' After the wallet was recovered , Galiley said , officials were careful to inform Bendik properly . `` We thought she may not want to relive it , '' he said . Bendik sang praises for the individuals who returned her wallet , including detective Frank Irizarry , who helped track her down . `` The lengths they went to find me , the extent that they went through and the fact that they were concerned about my feelings really impressed me , '' she said . The wallet still contained her old driver 's license and credit cards , she said , although $ 20 was missing . `` Twenty dollars was a lot of money then , '' she said . After two decades , much more has changed . Referring to two of her old bank cards from Manufacturers Hanover Trust Bank and Banker 's Trust , Bendik said , `` I was shocked that both banks had closed . '' But some things have n't changed . Bendik continues to have fond memories of Central Park . The Ohio native , who has lived in New York for 40 years , still describes the park as one of her favorite areas in the city . `` It 's a public place in an impersonal city , '' she said , `` It brings everyone together in a pleasant way of reconnecting with nature and beauty . '' Today , Bendik smiles at the idea of her wallet buried in a cherry tree in Central Park for nearly 30 years , and she 's happy to have it in her hands again . `` After all these years it 's still available as a time capsule of my life . ''
John Bendik 's wallet was snatched in 1982 during the New York riots . Police found wallet while chopping down a black cherry tree in Central Park . Wallet still contained driver 's license and credit cards , but $ 20 was missing .