CALGARY -- A Calgary woman is calling on the kindness of strangers after losing a purse full of cash on the CTrain last Friday.

Elisa (she asked that CTV not reveal her last name) was riding the CTrain Oct. 30 after withdrawing thousands of dollars from a bank near Chinook Mall.

She boarded a train bound for Tuscany, then got out downtown, planning to buy a transit pass, only to discover she'd left the train without the black Kate Spade purse with a short silver chain handle containing $5,000.

"I just tried to run after the train," she said, "but there was nothing I could do."

Elisa

She pushed the help button, but transit staff said they couldn't find anything and she ultimately ended up filing a police report.

It didn't help, either, that Elisa's father died from thrombosis a few years ago on Nov. 2, and the impending anniversary had her distracted and depressed.

She's currently not working, but rather trying to upgrade and finish school.

"I just hope that whoever found it has a good enough heart to return my belongings, my ID, my passport, my credit and debit cards, keys - everything was in that purse," she said. "You have my address, you don't have to face me, you can just return it and if you do want to face me, I'm more than willing to give something back."

Purse

"I know it's a lot of money," she added, "and it would help a lot of people, but I just hope whoever found this has a good enough heart to return this."

In an emailed reply, Calgary Transit said they did receive a lost property report for the purse but because a police report has been filed, it's now a police matter.

If you forgot something on a bus or CTrain, you are instructed to call lost and found at 403-262-1000.