10-taong gulang na bata nakakita ng $10,000 sa isang hotel.

A 10-year-old boy who found $10,000 hidden in a drawer in a Kansas City hotel room won't get to keep it even though no-one has come forward to claim the cash.

Tyler Schaefer and his father Cody, from Rapid City, South Dakota, failed to comply with the tortuous requirements of a 1939 Missouri law that stipulates how to claim lost money.

After finding the money, in non-consecutive $100 bills still bound in money wrappers, in May last year, Tyler and Cody immediately handed it over to police.

But, according to the law, they then had to file an affidavit with a state court within 10 days stating where and when they found it.

Other steps included tacking a list to the courthouse door and four other public places in the city, as well as publishing adverts in a local newspaper for three consecutive weeks.

So, despite the fact that Mr Schaeffer and his son's discovery generated news headlines across America and beyond, more than meeting the spirit of the law, they failed to comply with the letter of it.

Now experts say that it is unlikely that the family will be able to keep the cash, which is still sitting in a safe at the Kansas City Police Department.

The police said no one has come forward to claim the large sum of money and they suspect that's because it is tied to something illicit.

If an owner hasn't come forward after four more years, reports The Kansas City Star, police will hand the money over to the state treasurer's office, where it will be kep in trust forever if an owner doesn't come forward.

Tyler found the money when he and his father checked into the Hilton Airport Hotel and he went through his usual routine of scanning the new surroundings.

'He's one of those kids that likes to look for stuff,' Mr Schaefer told ABC News at the time.

As soon as Tyler stumbled upon the loot, his father turned it over to two police officers who were at the hotel.

Mr Schaefer has said that he isn't concerned that he probably will not get the money. 'We didn't have the money when we got there, so it doesn't change much,' he said.

Police Captain Tye Grant was disappointed that he couldn't give the cash to Tyler.

'We wish the law allowed us to give it back to him,' he told the Star.