ONE of Bangor’s oldest residents and her family have been left scratching their heads trying to solve what will forever be known as the ‘Mystery of the Missing Handbag’.
The search is on for a Good Samaritan who returned the handbag that 104 year-old May Trimble hadn’t even realised was missing.
The bag, found at Springhill bus stop, was returned to May unlooted, cash and cards in place, with the honest finder able to trace her whereabouts thanks to the Spectator after the centenarian appeared two years ago celebrating her 103th birthday.
Found in a place May never frequents, her family and carers were left utterly perplexed how the bag came to find itself there, until a memory was finally jogged and the mystery solved – well, almost.
May’s son Rowland explained the conundrum, which to-date has one final piece of the puzzle yet to be solved – the friendly finder of the temporarily absent accessory.
“Having received a phone call advising that the handbag she didn’t realise was missing, had been handed in to Bangor train station, my mother, who still lives independently at home, involved her family and carers in the great riddle on Friday, May 1st, now known as ‘missing handbag day’,” quipped Rowland.
“Initially, fearing cognitive decline had finally set in, the family struggled to imagine the handbag wasn’t in the room with her. Or if the telephone call she’d received about the handbag was nothing more than a scam,” he said.
May’s mental acuity was eventually vindicated however, as Rowland went on: “That the handbag was indeed missing was corroborated by May’s carers at lunchtime, prompting a panicked phone call to the lovely staff at Bangor train station.
“They had Googled May from her identification in her handbag and found a write-up from her 103rd birthday in the Spectator, and thus managed to track her down.
“May’s carers, now officially part of her family, returned the handbag to May, who confirmed cash and cards were all present,” he said.
The whole family have been left heartened and delighted that whoever found May’s handbag was among the ‘many kind and good people still walking our streets’.
They are keen that such a good deed should not go unnoticed, but without knowing the identity of the person who returned the bag safe and sound, they wanted to ask the Spectator to help them publicly thank the kind-hearted and helpful party.
Rowland concluded by explaining one of the most baffling elements of the mystery: “How did her handbag end up at Springhill bus stop when she doesn’t now use public transport?”
“The Mystery of the Missing Handbag was finally solved at the end of the day, when it was discovered that May had indeed left the house with her handbag the day before, on April 30, for an ice cream, though in the opposite direction from Springhill.
“However, in her rush to get back for the carers, the handbag was placed on the roof of the car, as her legs were assisted out of the vehicle, and May was helped back into her house.”
What was confirmed next will be a familiar faux pas many motorists have been guilty of, at one time or another in their driving career.
“And yes, the handbag remained on the roof of the car, leaving only a bit of speed and a slight curve of the road for it to fly off and land at Springhill bus stop,” he laughed.
The name of the family member who had taken out his elderly relation for that delicious ice-cream is to remain part of this great urban mystery however, to save his blushes – though it wasn’t Rowland himself, he pointed out.
Most likely the person, who shall remain nameless, in this newspaper at least, is among May’s family which includes 17 grandchildren and great grandchildren who total ’32 at the last count’.
