CAPE CORAL, Fla. — It’s a story that has been three months in the making. We first stumbled upon a safe dumped in an empty lot in Cape Coral back in March, and since then, it’s been in the hands of the Cape Coral Police Department (CCPD).

Its contents were a mystery, that is until now.

Back in March, it was found completely by accident along a canal in Cape Coral, and at first glance, you’d be forgiven for thinking it was just junk until it was turned over to hear a metallic clink coming from inside.

PREVIOUS STORY: Old, suspicious safe found in southeast Cape Coral

On the advice of a local locksmith, Koons Locksmith in Fort Myers, we called CCPD, who picked it up and had us fill out some paperwork. We even had to put down a deposit as they took it into evidence.

They called three months later, saying the safe was ready to be claimed.

“We don’t get a lot of those; every once in a while, usually it’s a cheapie Sentry,” said Mike Bulleit from Koons Locksmith.

On Friday morning, Bulleit was able to override the aftermarket lock on the Meilink safe.

“And if that was in the water, play the lotto tonight; that works. It even opened. It should have fried everything, but we lucked out,” he said. “If it’s one of the other electronics, they’ve all had to be drilled.”

Unfortunately, all we found inside was a pair of screws and a washer. Needless to say, it was a disappointing outcome. But we’re not the first to go through all that trouble for an empty safe, and as Mike explained, cracking one can be expensive, especially if you don’t know what’s in it.

“Depends what they want to do with it; I mean, if your buddy gives you a safe, they don’t know the combination; guess what, it’s gonna cost 450 dollars just to get it open. Is it really worth it to you? Buy a new one,” Bulleit said.