A 17-year-old teen in San Diego returned a purse left in a grocery store parking lot - and although he expected nothing in return, hundreds of strangers gave him a very big reward: $17,000.
Adrian Rodriquez found the green handbag in Ralph’s parking lot in Chula Vista, California, two weeks ago. Instead of bringing it inside the store, he decided to deliver it himself to the woman’s front door.
Although the owner, Eliana Martin, wasn’t there, the purse was left with her roommate, and the home’s surveillance video was later used to track down the high school graduate to show him some love.
“I looked into the Ring camera, and I was like, ‘Oh my God. He’s such a young kid’,” recalls Melina Marquez. “We need to find him and just give him a little piece of gratitude.”
She and Eliana posted the striking image on social media, and found the young man who returned the bag, which contained $20 and a wallet full of credit cards.
“My mom always told me since I was little to always do the right thing when nobody’s around,” Adrian told NBC News. “I didn’t expect nothing back, honestly. “If someone found my stuff, I’d want them to bring it back to me,” said the humble youth.
But the good news didn’t stop there. Eliana and Melina organized a GoFundMe campaign as a way for friends and new admirers to reward Adrian’s honesty. 764 donors sent money that tallied over $17,000.
“Every parent right now hopes that their children grow up to be just like this young gentleman,” Melina said.