You know how something can seem like a lost cause, that’s it’s better to give up rather than hold out for any chance at a faint hope? Well, sometimes all you have to do is ask…

An unidentified Canadian man called Shenzhen police to say he left his backpack in the back of a taxi at around 2pm on New Year’s Eve. The Guangming police sub-station answered the call, and after determining where he got out of the taxi, they were able to isolate which taxi the man took by looking at local surveillance video.

When contacted, driver Mr Zhang confirmed there was a bag in his car, and said he would return it to the police sub-station. And so at 2:30pm, not half an hour after he first reported it missing, the Canadian man was able to regain his lost backpack with nothing missing inside.

As amazing as this story is, similar reports in the Chinese news are actually very common. Many are stories of drivers returning cash to their rightful owners. And while they lack the amazing sleuthing skills of this story, other incidents involving foreigners losing backpacks in taxis have made the news this year.

A foreigner identified as “Max” forgot his backpack in a taxi in November last year, but was able to get it back within an hour by showing police where he exited the taxi on miniature model of the city he was visiting.

“Max” points out the exact location where the taxi that has his missing backpack dropped him off.

A foreigner with the name “Luca” also forgot his backpack in a taxi while visiting Chengde in July, but was able to retrieve it before too long because the taxi driver noticed it after dropping him off and immediately went back to the hotel to give it to Luca personally.

So if you happen to forget your backpack in the back of a taxi, don’t fret; you too might actually get it back.

Photo: China Daily