O'Neill rector Father John Herman reported that a "significant chunk" of the stolen Mardi Gras money was returned anonymously in an envelope outside his room Monday.

However, not all of the more than $4,000 has been returned and a report has been filed with Notre Dame Security/Police.

Herman originally postponed contacting security and offered a $500 reward for information leading to the money's return, hoping that the money would be recovered willingly.

"After the all-hall meeting on Sunday, we know it was an inside job. The fact that everyone knew it was missing motivated someone to return at least some of the money," said Herman who was in Detroit on Sunday and faced the news of the theft upon his return that evening.

The money was taken from the hall government office. The thieves stole the keys to the office from of the dorm rooms of the hall presidents. The keys are still missing.

According to director of Notre Dame Security/Police Rex Rakow, detectives were on the scene throughout the day on Monday, but have only uncovered the preliminary stages of the investigation.

"The investigators will be back at it [today] to sort it out. It's going to take time to get through it all, assess the exact amount of what was lost and get a sense of what happened," said Rakow.

The future of the Mardi Gras rests on the outcome of this continued investigation and the return of the stolen money.

"To be honest, I still don't know what we will do about Mardi Gras next year. Right now, there won't be one because a good chunk of money is still out there," said Herman. Monday night. "It's nice that some money came back, but we are brothers and this is still an attack on our community."

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