It sounds like a dream come true: the doors of an armored truck fly open, and cash comes flying out, all over the road, just begging to be scooped up by passers-by. But even when dreams become reality, that doesn’t mean loose money is free money, which is why police in Baltimore are asking the public to return cash that spilled from an armored vehicle earlier this week.

On Wednesday night, a Brinks armored truck was traveling through Baltimore’s Harbor Tunnel when the vehicle’s back door apparently suffered a malfunction and sprung open, sending paper currency spewing onto the roadway, reports the Baltimore Sun.

And because people are people, many drivers stopped to get out of their cars and pick up the money floating around like a cash piñata had just been busted open and it was natural to collect it.

The tunnel was subsequently closed for eight hours on Wednesday night and Thursday morning, Maryland Transportation Authority said, while the cash was cleaned up.

It’s unclear how much money ended up falling out or how much people took, as police wouldn’t confirm amounts “due to the ongoing investigation.” Some people on the scene did cooperate and handed over money, but investigators think there’s still missing moolah.

Because there’s no finders-keepers rule that says cash is public property if it happens to hit the street, city prosecutors are giving folks who collected money a deadline of 5 p.m. on Saturday to return the dough, or potentially face theft charges.

Police: If you took spilled cash from armored truck in tunnel, you have 2 days to return it [Baltimore Sun]

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.