After a one-month police investigation into the apparent theft of $600 from Kappa Delta Epsilon sorority, a sister in the house found the money at the end of August in the bottom of a desk drawer.
Ellen Wilderman '97 found the $600, which was KDE's summer slush fund, when she moved furniture in her room between Summer and Fall terms, according to Hanover Police Detective David Luther, who headed the investigation.
A slush fund is money a Greek house collects from its members to purchase alcohol.
Wilderman found the envelope jammed beneath the bottom desk drawer in the room occupied by Lynn Thacher '97, KDE's summer social chair, Luther said.
Wilderman "was moving into the room, and she was moving some furniture around to do some cleaning," Luther said. The money "was found underneath a rear corner of the desk in a not too visible location."
Luther said it was "very conceivable" the envelope slipped behind one of the desk drawers and became wedged at the bottom.
KDE filed a report on Aug. 31 telling Hanover Police the money had been recovered, Luther said.
KDE Summer President Gretchen Lanka '97 said the confusion sprung from a "very honest mistake."
"We had searched the room for at least three hours and we had been pretty sure that someone had taken" the slush fund, she said.
Lanka said she searched behind the drawer but was probably unable to reach the envelope.
"I feel very silly for having brought the police in," Lanka said. But she added, "Under the circumstances, I think what we did was totally reasonable."
KDE first discovered the envelope missing from Thacher's room in mid-July. The house reported the money stolen a few days later.
Thacher could not be reached for comment.
