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[Cap]

Homeless hero finds $3,300 cash in lost backpack... and gives it BACK

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 6:58 PM on 19th November 2010




A homeless man in Arizona found over $3,300 (£2,000) in a backpack, and rather than keeping the money he tracked down the owner and gave it back.

Dave Talley, a recovering alcoholic who's been homeless for 11 years, found the satchel with thousands cash at a light rail station in Tempe.

He had just spent his last money on parts for his bicycle when he came across the money and was initially tempted to keep it.

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Dave Tally, who has been homeless for 11 years and was broke, returned $3,300 of cash he found in a backpack

Dave Tally, who has been homeless for 11 years and was broke, returned $3,300 of cash he found in a backpack

'I don't think anybody would not be tempted by that,' Tally, 49, said in an interview.

But instead Tally took the backpack to Stephen Sparks, operations manager at Tempe Community Action Agency, which provides local homeless people with meals and shelter in area churches.

They found a flash drive inside the backpack, and on that was a CV belonging to the backpack's owner with his name, Bryan Belanger, on it.

The Arizona State University student had been carrying all the cash so he could buy a car.

'This is the greatest thing I've ever experienced,' Belanger said, who thought after five days missing the money was gone for good.

'I think it is really is a lesson to keep your faith in people. Character exists no matter what your circumstances are.'

He gave Tally a unspecified reward and is grateful to have his money back.

Belanger's mother then called the local newspaper The Arizona Republic to report the good deed, calling the man's action 'humbling'.

Since the story broke Wednesday dozens of people have come forward to thank Tally and offer him money.

Tally, who lost his driver's license after an arrest for driving under the influence in 1999, hasn't had a drink since 2003.

He still owes restitution for the accident that led to the arrest and his back account is negative $67.

Even so, he doesn't doubt his decision to reutrn the cash.

'It wasn't my money. I didn't earn it,' Tally says.

'I'm the one that has to lay down every day and deal with myself. If I'd done anything different than what I did, I don't know if I could handle that.'


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... z15luCA2xH

[Cap]

Yeah.. thought so.

[wyoming cowboy]

re Cap[ what would you do man?

[CBBB]

The KEO is on me!

[kurupetos]

I would have donated the money to cy44.

[Get Real!]

What would YOU do?... and be honest

Homeless hero finds $3,300 cash in lost backpack... and gives it BACK

I bood it in my boget!

[bsharpish]

Back in 1975 as a nipper I was pedalling round on a wet, grey, shitty morning doing my paper round.

I found a wallet with £800 in it ( so gawd knows what that would be now) and being an "honest lad" I tracked down the owner and returned it.....

My reward ... 12 fecking pence - I ask you 12 fecking pence and I was late so missed my brekkie before school

So for sure .... Pocket it !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Oracle]

The most I've ever found was a £20 note. I say "I", but it was in fact my, then, 4 year old son. He decided it was definitely HIS. So, being in the middle of nowhere (a windswept parking lot at a motorway Service Station) I decided he could pocket it. Ten minutes later I helpfully offered to put it in a safer place than his pocket, whereupon we discovered he had lost it now too!

I'm still not sure what the moral of that story is ....

[Schnauzer]

Jimmy Light once asked (as a beggar-man) for tuppence (old money) in order to buy himself a cup of tea, I gave him a threepenny piece and he immediately crossed the road and went down into the public toilets which (at that time were in the centre of 'Queen's Road in Brighton).

He emerged a few minutes later and I noticed that he had treated himself to a 'Wash and Brush up' which would have cost him the threepence I had given him.

I questioned his action since he had not used the money as he suggested he would and learned something.

Jimmy reasoned that by making himself a little more presentable to the general holidaymakers that were in town, he could now ask for a 'Pound' if he attached a sad enough story to his request.

I know for sure that his theory worked well for him, he has been at it ever since.

The possibility IS, that this particular chap might be blessed with the same natural ability to see an opportunity as did Jimmy, such a demonstration of 'Honesty' in a corrupt world was guaranteed to be beneficial to him, he probably ended up with far more money than the original sum he found PLUS, he must have received many offers of employment, housing and help as a result of his action.

I suspect that he may have buried a few bucks just in case the outcome didn't pan out quite as he expected, good luck to him, he obviously knows (I hope) that one must 'speculate to accumulate' (old Jewish adage)

[Sotos]

In that case I would give the money back. But if it was just some cash without any personal id associated with them then I would keep them if it was a small amount or donate them if it was a big one.