The Belnaps had been saving for almost a year in order to afford season tickets for University of Utah football games, they told USA Today in an article published Thursday. The money had been stashed inside an envelope labeled "Utah Utes Tickets" and placed on a counter, to remind themselves to hand it over to relatives that picked up the tickets.
In total, the enveloped held a whopping $1,060.
When the weekend to hand over the cash rolled around, however, the envelope was missing. After a search was launched by the frantic parents, Jackie solved the mystery and determined that the funds had been shredded into tiny bits of paper.
"I'm digging through the trash, and [Jackee] hollers and says, ‘I found it,'" Ben told Utah news station KSL-TV. "She's holding the shredder, and she says, ‘I think the money is in here.'"
After a few tears were shed, the Belnaps found the humor in their situation and laughed it off. "We were just baffled that this could happen," Ben told the station.
Ben later shared the family experience with netizens on Tuesday, writing on Twitter, "Yup. 2 year old shredded $1060." Attached to that tweet was an image of the shredded cash and a picture of Leo, looking as if he couldn't care less about the snafu.
According to the parents, who are now $1,060 short for tickets, Leo learned what the shredder could do after helping mom and dad shred junk mail and any other letters they no longer wanted.
While Leo is presently on a timeout from the shredder, netizens have been knocking out the jokes online.
But not all is lost, folks. The US Department of the Treasury's Bureau of Engraving and Printing does work with people in similar situations, allowing them to exchange the mutilated bills for intact ones. The process, however, can take between six and 36 months.