The city of Moline, Ill., was placed on high alert Tuesday in an emergency effort to find a gray suit -- stuffed with an 80-year-old man’s life savings of $13,000.

The man unintentionally donated the suit to Goodwill and hadn’t realized his mistake until last week, Goodwill spokeswoman Dana Engelbert told msnbc.com on Tuesday.

The man told Goodwill officials he had stuffed his suit with cash. His elderly wife also is having treatment for cancer.

"It's their life savings. It's important that we help them find it," Engelbert said.

In a community-wide appeal, the man’s family asked residents of Molina to look out for the suit after efforts to find it failed on Tuesday.

“We’re currently searching through non-seasonal items and those sent to our warehouse,” she said. “There are thousands of pounds of merchandise.”

The man's daughter told WQAD.com that her father wanted to remain anonymous because he was "devastated and embarrassed" by his mistake. She said she was hoping for a positive outcome and offered a $1,000 reward for the suit’s return.

“We’re hoping that a Good Samaritan finds this and turns it back in,” Engelbert said.