Homeless man returns engagement ring, gets £98,000

Published on 26/02/2013 14:38

A homeless man who returned an engagement ring to a couple after it was inadvertantly dropped into his collection cup is in line to receive a reward of nearly £100,000.

• Homeless man in line to receive nearly £100,000 after returning engagement ring to couple

• Fundraising website set up by couple receives donations from over 6,000 people

An online campaign set up to raise money for Billy Ray Harris was established by Sarah Darling and Bill Krejci to show their gratitude.

To date, the website has raised £98,000, but with 79 days of the 90-day campaign to go, the total is expected to exceed the £100,000 mark.

Mr Harris was collecting change on a bridge in Kansas City when Sarah Darling stopped to give him some money.

However, she had also accidentally thrown in her engagement ring after it it fell out of her purse. She had earlier taken off the ring because she had developed a rash on her finger.

After noticing the ring was missing, Miss Darling returned to the bridge two days later and spoke to Mr Harris, who had kept the ring suspecting that its owner would come back for it.

When Mr Harris returned the ring, Miss Darling and Mr Krejci set up a fundraising website in his honour, with an initial target of $1,000 (£658.58).

News of the site spread quickly, and donations have exceeded the target to the tune of $150,000 (£98,000), made up of donations from around 6,200 people.

Mr Harris, originally from Texas, said of his good deed: “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 still do have some character.”

• To donate to Billy Ray Harris, visit http://www.giveforward.com/billyray