Cary, N.C. — Do you know where all your money is? A lot of us think we do, but North Carolina is holding $700 million in unclaimed cash. That means a lot of people are wrong when they think they've kept tabs on all their cash.

Bill O'Connor didn't know he had more than $4,000 in unclaimed cash until WRAL's 5 On Your Side called him. The money came to be after he invested in the stock market.

“I invested this money in the stock and then probably about seven years later, another company bought it out and they paid all the stock holders including myself. So I got a nice fund for it and thought that was the end of it,” O'Connor said.

O'Connor went to North Carolina's unclaimed property Web site and found his name.

“The first thing is I didn't know if it was real or not. I've heard of different Internet scams and things like that, so I just wanted to make sure the source was, you know, really who it was,” he said.

O'Connor has been laid off from his job. He said the money will help him get by until he finds a new job.

“It was a shock. Especially at a time when I could use the money,” he said.

He credits his father, who encouraged him to buy the stock.

“He got me into that stock and he passed away 11 years ago, so it's almost as if he's still providing for me today,” O'Connor said.

WRAL's 5 on Your Side also found $6,300 for Gretchen Coley of Holly Springs.

That brings the total found by 5 on Your Side to almost $236,500. You can search the N.C. Treasurer’s Web site or call 919-508-1000.

If you find missing money for yourself, let 5 On Your Side know.