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Chicagoan Restores Faith -- And Wallet -- Of Michigan Woman

(CBS) -- You know that horrible sinking feeling: You're in a strange town and you realize your wallet is missing.

A Michigan woman visiting Chicago got that feeling in June.

But then she found something amazing in her mailbox this past weekend.

CBS 2's Mike Parker explains.

Elaine Simpson of Birmingham, Mich. says she was staying at the Swissotel in Chicago for a business meeting.

She was getting ready to check out when it hit her: Her wallet was missing.

"And I had to be on a plane in two hours, and so panic struck," Simpson tells Parker in a Skype interview.

In her wallet were priceless family photos, credit cards and about $150 in cash. She filed a police report, and a hotel worker loaned her $60 to get to the airport.

Several days later, an envelope arrived from someone named "Sid" in Chicago. The wallet and its contents were intact – almost.

"It was so sweet, Sid used three dollars and 78 cents out of my wallet to pay for the postage," an appreciative Simpson says.

She had only a return address, and no full name of the sender.

CBS 2 found Sid at home in West Rogers Park. He is a retired physician, Dr. Fazal Siddiqui, who says he found the wallet on the back seat of a taxi cab outside Navy Pier.

"I'm supposed to be honest because I am a Muslim. It's my faith, my teaching," he says.

Parker introduced Dr. Siddiqui to the woman he helped.

"I appreciate that, and you've gone above and beyond and I'd to show my appreciation to you and do something nice for you," Simpson said.

"Thank you, ma'am. I really appreciate it," Siddiqui said.

Simpson says what happened helped her regain her faith in human kindness and people doing the right thing.

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