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Elder Erik Goodman (center) admires a token of appreciation given to him by Southeast Area Command Capt. Rob DeBuck (right). Watching is Elder Matthew Fletcher, who was with Goodman when they found a bag containing $1,200 cash.

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Two Mormons walk into a police No, it's not the start of a joke. It's the beginning of a story about Elder Erik Goodman, 21, and Elder Matthew Fletcher, 19.

The two missionaries this weekend found $1,200 in cash on a crime-heavy street off Copper Avenue Northeast.

They were riding their bikes home from a fellow church member's house, where they'd helped translate Spanish to his landlord, when a scrap of paper caught Goodman's eye.

It turned out to be an envelope from a local financial institution. Inside, the two found a stack of bills.

"I'm very observant," Goodman said.

And he is very honest.

When Goodman turned over the cash to Albuquerque police Monday morning, he joined a list of only 16 others who have turned in money and wallets found in the last 10 years, according to Metropolitan Forensic Science Center records.

Most folks on that list turned in wallets with less than $100. In 2004, one person turned in a wallet with $1,027.

"Most of it is returned with wallets," said Capt. Larry Sonntag. "It is unusual for an individual to come forward with just cash. That is special."

Officer James Hopper tagged the elders' find into evidence. He then looked for recent reports of lost money or burglary reports, but found none.

"I just told them that that is pretty cool of you guys. There are not too many people who would turn in $1,200, especially cash," Hopper said.

But the idea of keeping the money never entered their minds, Goodman said.

"We try to be honest in all of our dealing with our fellow man," Goodman said. "God tests us in many ways to make sure we're not prideful. We look at it as more of a trial or test, more than we're being blessed."

That said, if no one claims the money within 90 days, they get it back.

Goodman said if that happens, he will split it with Fletcher and will send his portion back to his parents in Yuba City, Calif., near Sacramento.

He and Fletcher, of Portland, Ore., are on the last year of their two-year Mormon mission in Albuquerque. They and their families must pay for their expenses.

The owner of the money can file a claim with the forensic science center at 823-4600, but must produce proof that the cash is theirs.