A homeless man may have sacrificed a chance at quick money in order to do the right thing.
CNN affiliate KCTV reports Sarah Darling dumped change from her wallet into an orange cup Billy Ray Harris used to collect donations from passersby.
“My rings were bothering me, so I put them in my coin purse,” Darling explained.
The next day, she realized that when she dumped the change into Harris’ cup, she also dumped her engagement ring.
“I was so incredibly upset because, more than just the value of the ring, it had sentimental value,” Darling said.
Harris said it wasn’t until about an hour after Darling dumped the ring that he noticed it in his cup.
“The ring was so big that I knew, if it was real, it was expensive,” Harris said.
He knew the ring was probably as valuable for the sentiment as for the cash. He didn’t hesitate to return it when Darling came back and asked about the ring.
Harris explained what happened next.
“She squatted down like you did, right there, and says, ‘Do you remember me?’ And I was like, ‘I don’t know. I see a lot of faces.’ She says, ‘I might have gave you something very valuable.’ I said, ‘Was it a ring?’ And she says, ‘Yeah.’ And I said, ‘Well, I have it,’” Harris said.
“It seemed like a miracle,” Darling said. “I thought for sure there was no way I would get it back.”
Why didn’t he just pawn the ring and get the cash?
“My grandfather was a reverend. He raised me from the time I was six months old, and thank the good Lord, it’s a blessing but I do still have some character,” Harris said.
Darling also gave Harris a reward, handing him all the cash she had in her wallet at the time.
