INSIDE EDITION talks to a man who bought a safe from Home Depot and got the surprise of a lifetime when he found a treasure inside.
26-year-old Matt Chambers got the surprise of his life when he opened a safe that he'd bought at Home Depot and found it was filled with priceless treasures.
"I opened it up and I was shocked," said Chambers.
Inside the safe, Chambers found someone else's life history.
There were marriage and death certificates, deeds to properties, and century-old family immigration records.
Chambers also found an expired passport belonging to Rick Cooper who had movie star looks.
A less ethical person could have sold the treasure trove of personal information, or simply tossed it.
Instead, the financial advisor from Canyon Country, California set out to crack the mystery of the safe wide open.
"It was puzzling to me, I knew that the information in there was valuable to him, so I wanted to get it back to him," Chambers said.
He researched the name Rick Cooper for days and finally found him.
"I was really excited," said Chambers.
INSIDE EDITION cameras were there as the two men met for the first time.
"Pleasure, great to finally meet you," said Cooper.
You won't believe who this mystery man is. It turns out Cooper was a Hollywood actor, famous for his role in the blockbuster movie Tora Tora Tora.
"I don't know how you can remake these documents, it's impossible, it's priceless," said Cooper.
So how did his priceless papers end up at Home Depot?
Call it a case of absentmindedness.
Cooper bought the safe but decided it was too small.
"I put it aside and said I'll return the safe," Cooper said.
Weeks later he put the safe back in its original box and returned it, forgetting his documents were still inside.
"It is funny, but I did seal it back so it looked brand new," said Cooper.
The two men and their families are united by a safe containing precious momentos from a distant past.
"I just hope that people will go out of their way to do something nice for someone else," said Chambers.
To thank him for all of his hard work, Cooper gave Chambers a cash reward and plans to hire him as his financial advisor.
