Good Samaritan returns $2k camera equipment to 16-year-old

GRANTS PASS, Ore. — A boy from Grants Pass thought his new camera equipment was gone forever, but a good Samaritan made sure that wasn’t the case.

“I saved up for two years for this, bought every single piece by myself,” said 16-year-old Bryce Dennis.

Dennis is passionate about videography.

He just started making videos for clients, calling his small side-business BZ Productions.

“I was filming an interview for my client, she’s a real estate broker. And so we were over there by those rocks filming an interview, and the interview went great – and then, then it didn’t,” Dennis said.

He says he became distracted and sat his new camera, a Sony A5600, down in the grass at Riverside Park.

“I was carrying it all back to my car and then as I was loading up my vehicle, I was talking to the real estate lady, I was tired and I drove away,” he said.

Dennis says he was devastated when he got home 15 minutes later and realized he’d left his expensive camera equipment behind.

As the realization settled in for Dennis, a man named Tony Mercer stopped by the park before an appointment and noticed the camera.

Mercer says he left for his appointment with the camera and was planning to take it to the police at first.

“You know, rather than them go through all the paperwork of having to get it back, maybe, I’ll run by the park and see if anyone is looking for it,” Mercer said.

Mercer says he began asking people at Riverside Park if they’d lost a camera, not knowing that Dennis and his family had come out in search for it.

“I was so excited, he pulled out my camera and it was in perfect shape and I was so excited,” Dennis said.

The two exchanged emails and have been staying in touch.

“By the time I got back to the park, they were there looking for it and I was there at the same time so uh, yeah, it was definitely meant to be,” said Mercer.

Dennis is grateful for the return of his equipment.

“I want to get him a gift card or take him out to dinner or something, because this is very important to me,” he said.

Mercer says he was more than happy to return the camera.

“Do the right thing. You know, we need to do more of it and if we do more of the right thing, you know what? Things will turn out right,” Mercer said.

Mercer is now in the process of connecting Dennis to a professional photographer he knows, in hopes Dennis can increase his photo and videography skills.