19. A Regular Day
For Dan Dotson and his wife and partner Laura, a day at storage units is filled with excitement as the crew is filming the A&E series Storage Wars. Everyone is waiting to get their hands on a storage unit. But one day, the cameras didn’t roll…
18. Competing for Units
All units that weren’t paid by the owners in three months get put for auction. The TV show films some moments when the people come to bid for units, each trying to win an interesting unit.
However, probably the most valuable thing in the history of this show was not caught on camera and did not make it to the show!
17. At a Charity Event
Dan and Laura were at a charity event when a woman was looking at him persistently. He thought that maybe she recognized him from the show, which was not unusual. But something was off, and at the end of the event, the woman finally approached him.
16. Sharing the Story on Social Media
One day, Dan filmed himself and posted the footage on Twitter. His story was shared and became so viral that it made headlines all over the world! He said that as he was at that event, “an older Asian woman at the table next to me kept looking at me.” He felt like she wanted to tell him something…
15. Incredible News
He had no idea that the woman had some incredible news. Dan’s career involved meeting thousands of people, but he didn’t remember meeting this woman. He then says that “eventually she walked up and told me her husband works with a guy who bought a unit from me for $500 and found a safe inside.”
14. Just a Safe
If you haven’t watched the show, then you should know that many storage rooms had safes, and most of them contained nothing and were very heavy to move. But this woman said that the situation was much more different and they needed to see Dan…
13. Calling for a Locksmith
The woman and her husband hired a locksmith, but he said he couldn’t or wouldn’t open the safe. So, they called a second one, explained Dan in the video: “and when that person opened it up – inside the safe they’re normally empty, but this time it wasn’t empty.”
What was inside that locker that made this couple called Dan for help?
12. The Safe Door is Unlocked
As soon as the safe was unlocked, the couple slowly pulled the door open and saw some dollar bills. But as they threw the door open, they were stunned! The entire safe was filled with stacks of cash!
How much money was in there? Dan and Laura went to talk to the lucky couple…
11. A Rare Opportunity
You don’t get to see this every day – even Dan and Laura, who work in this field, were shocked to hear about the lucky find. So they went to see it for themselves and to help the couple with a huge problem with this treasure.
10. That Much Money?
“It had $7.5million (£5.8m) cash inside,” said Dan in the video, adding that there was one problem. They thought that they would be filthy rich, but the anonymous couple got a call from a lawyer. Things were more complicated than that…
9. The Original Owners
After headlines circulated about the cash discovery, the couple received a call from an attorney claiming that he represented the original owners of the unit, hence the owners of the cash. He wanted to make an offer and here’s where Dan was going to help.
8. The Reward For The Money
The attorney told the new owners of the unit that they will get $600,000 if they returned the cash to the original owners. But Dan had to reach out some of the cast at the Storage Wars and ask them for advice. Rene Nezhoda responded…
7. This is Fishy
Rene was a little bit suspicious about the origin of the money. Why tuck more than 7 million dollars in a storage locker and then forget to pay for it? He told Dan that there might be a reason why the owners decide not to put the money in a bank.
6. Something Off about the Money
“If you find money like that, there’s probably a reason it isn’t in the bank,” explains Rene in a video he posted on YouTube as a response to the huge discovery, adding that it might be related to the Mafia. He was a bit sad about not being there to bid for that unit but relieved he wasn’t in the couple’s situation.
What did the lucky finders decide?
5. Should They Accept the Offer?
Now that Dan, Laura, and the couple realized that they might mess with dangerous people, they thought it was safer to accept the offer, but not before negotiating a little. The two demanded to keep double than the offer – $1.2 million and return the rest. Did it work?
4. Not a Bad Purchase!
Their offer was accepted, and this is how the anonymous couple got to make a huge profit after only paying $500 for their purchase! Meanwhile, Dan and Laura went live on Facebook, speculating why someone would leave such a fortune in a storage unit…
3. Unforgettable
Dan agreed that nobody would forget about leaving $7.5million in a unit, but what if the owner wasn’t in charge of the money? Laura said that probably “credit card went bad, it was finished, they moved away, perhaps the person went to jail,” adding that nobody will ever know the reason.
2. One of a Kind Sale
Dan and Laura did not get rich after this find, but they did get the biggest thrill one could get in this career, setting a record and drawing more bidders to their auctions!
1. The Best Story Ever
This story is one worth telling, and we’re grateful Dan shared it with everyone. It just shows why storage auctions are popular. You never know if you hit the jackpot or bid on junk. The couple found a vast treasure behind the metal doors and got to keep at least a part of it.
