KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A Kansas City jewelry store is thanking a man for turning in $266,000 worth of gold and silver rings he found.

Robert Lewis works at Kansas City International Airport. On Monday night, he was leaving work when he noticed a suspicious package.

"I was heading home and I saw this bag right in the middle of the road. Working at an airline, I recognized it was freight," Lewis said.

"Brinks" was printed on the bag, and it was filled with 40 pounds of jewelry.

"I saw all the rings -- engagement rings, wedding rings, just unattached stone, diamonds, everything," Lewis said.

He said he briefly thought about keeping the bag, but then decided to turn it over to police.

It's not clear whether the bag was accidentally left behind or if it was part of a bungled robbery.

"How the heck does a bag like this fall out of a Brinks vehicle? I guess I spoiled somebody's plans," Lewis said.

The Brinks security company refused to comment on the case.

Helzberg Diamonds retrieved the bag of jewelry and is promising to show the company's appreciation to Lewis.

"I talked with Mr. Lewis today. I thanked him for what he has done. I'm sure we'll come up with a nice way to thank him. We'll figure out something special for him," Helzberg CEO Marvin Beasley said.

"Today is Helzberg's lucky day," Lewis said.