3:18 AM
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A homeless man who found a backpack containing a laptop and $3,000 cash has been thanked for going out of his way to return the items to the rightful owner.
Dave Tally, who lives in a shelter and is a recovering drug addict, found the unaccompanied backpack at a light rail station in Arizona earlier this month.
The backpack belonged to Arizona State University student Bryan Belanger, but there was no wallet or identification inside, making it difficult for Mr Tally to reunite the bag with its owner.
Mr Tally took the backpack to an employee of the shelter where he lives, and inside the bag they found a small flash drive.
The employee put the flash drive in a computer and found Bryan Belanger's resume, after which they phoned Mr Belanger and returned the backpack.
This week, Mr Belanger met the man who found his money.
He said he is still 'completely overwhelmed with gratitude for the guy... It says a lot.'
'It's a lesson in keeping your faith in people. You can have character, regardless of your circumstances,' he added.
Mr Tally said he briefly thought about keeping the money, then realised it did not belong to him.
'I'm just happy that it was me that was able to find it for him and turn it in to him,' he said.
'I don't know if anybody else would have, but it sure feels good now. It wasn't my money.'
Mr Belanger said he had reported his lost backpack to the police.
He said he ruined his car in an accident last month and withdrew money from his bank account to buy a new vehicle that day.
'It's humbling and it puts things into perspective,' Mr Belanger said of Mr Tally's decision.
The 21-year-old ASU student said he gave Mr Tally a reward, but did not want to reveal exactly how much.
www.rte.ie
Dave Tally, who lives in a shelter and is a recovering drug addict, found the unaccompanied backpack at a light rail station in Arizona earlier this month.
The backpack belonged to Arizona State University student Bryan Belanger, but there was no wallet or identification inside, making it difficult for Mr Tally to reunite the bag with its owner.
Mr Tally took the backpack to an employee of the shelter where he lives, and inside the bag they found a small flash drive.
The employee put the flash drive in a computer and found Bryan Belanger's resume, after which they phoned Mr Belanger and returned the backpack.
This week, Mr Belanger met the man who found his money.
He said he is still 'completely overwhelmed with gratitude for the guy... It says a lot.'
'It's a lesson in keeping your faith in people. You can have character, regardless of your circumstances,' he added.
Mr Tally said he briefly thought about keeping the money, then realised it did not belong to him.
'I'm just happy that it was me that was able to find it for him and turn it in to him,' he said.
'I don't know if anybody else would have, but it sure feels good now. It wasn't my money.'
Mr Belanger said he had reported his lost backpack to the police.
He said he ruined his car in an accident last month and withdrew money from his bank account to buy a new vehicle that day.
'It's humbling and it puts things into perspective,' Mr Belanger said of Mr Tally's decision.
The 21-year-old ASU student said he gave Mr Tally a reward, but did not want to reveal exactly how much.
www.rte.ie
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