Submitted photoMDOT employee Arthur Daniels (fourth, from left) is shown with MDOT Engineer Gary Davidson, Northern Transportation Commissioner Mike Tagert, Central Transportation Commissioner Dick Hall, Southern Transportation Commissioner Tom King, MDOT Executive Director Melinda McGrath and MDOT District 5 Engineer Brian Ratliff.

When local Mississippi Department of Transportation employee Arthur Daniels turned in a briefcase he discovered during a routine inspection, he did not realize the item’s value.

In addition to papers, the briefcase included more than $10,000, according to an MDOT representative.

“He stopped looking through the briefcase when he saw it belonged to someone,” MDOT Public Information Officer Morgan Miller said. “He did not notice the money inside.”

Daniels, an engineering technician at the Meridian Project Office, turned over the briefcase to the Mississippi Highway Patrol after seeing a name on paperwork. MHP officials later met with the owner to return the briefcase.

On Tuesday, Daniels received a Commission Commendation from the Mississippi Transportation Commission in recognition of “his exceptional service to MDOT and the people of Mississippi beyond that which is required,” Miller said.

Daniels began working for MDOT in 1997. He is pursuing his engineering degree from the University of Alabama-Birmingham while working full-time.

He was unavailable for comment on Tuesday.