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Man Returns Stolen Wallet And Completely Changes The Life Of Homeless Teen Thief

Man Returns Stolen Wallet And Completely Changes The Life Of Homeless Teen Thief

The man made it his 'mission' to return the wallet to its rightful owner, but had no idea he would end up helping out the teen who took it

Claire Reid

Claire Reid

A bar owner went totally above and beyond to find a customer's wedding ring and managed to completely change the life of a homeless teen.

Jimmy Gilleece, who owns Jimmy's in North Carolina, received a call last month from a 'frantic' customer who said she had lost her wallet - containing her wedding ring - at the bar.

Speaking to CBS, Jimmy said he decided that it would be his 'mission' to get the wallet, and ring, back to the woman. So, he began scouring the bar's CCTV footage in attempts to see what happened. After three hours and six different cameras, he eventually saw a young man take the wallet from a bench.

CBS

Jimmy recognised who had taken the wallet, and managed to get him to confess to taking the cash and dumping the wallet into an ocean channel.

At this point, I think it's fair to say that Jimmy has already done way more than he needed to, but does he stop there? Nope. Jimmy goes on to hire divers to go and try and retrieve the wallet.

Two divers eventually located the wallet - and the ring - and reunited them with their owner. Job done.

Now, surely, kind-hearted Jimmy has done enough, right? Wrong. Rather than bask in the feel-goods of returning the ring, Jimmy begins to worry about the young thief who took the wallet.

He told the news outlet: "He was living in the woods, and this is when it was 30 degrees outside, and he hadn't eaten in two days.

"I could tell he wasn't a criminal. He was just somebody who needed a little help."

The thief, 17-year-old Rivers Prather, had been sleeping rough after becoming estranged from him mum. Despite his best efforts, he found himself on the streets and stole the wallet to help feed himself.

Rivers told CBS News: "I couldn't have been luckier. Most other people would have just gave the footage to police, and he chose to help me. He's made me part of his family."

Rivers Prather.
CBS

And he really has, as Rivers now lives with Jimmy, his fiancée and their kids and has given him a job.

He continued: "I say thank you to him every day. I'd do anything for him."

What a thoroughly decent LAD. Jimmy for president, I say.

Source: CBS

Featured Image Credit: CBS

Topics: Inspirational, US