Central Point, Ore. — A stolen purse full of honeymoon keepsakes and gift cards is back in it’s owner’s hands tonight. Kristina Phillips’ purse was stolen last Tuesday when she was out with friends.
“I know things can be replaced, but there were things that were special to me in there, honeymoon trinkets, special things from my parents,” she said.
Two days later Phillips’ dad, Jesse Grabowski, got a knock on the door of his Central Point home.
“He pulls out the missing purse and says I think I found something that you have lost,” Grabowski said.
It was a homeless veteran, one Grabowski had never seen. He found the purse while digging through the garbage for cans. Then he walked across town to the address on Phillips’ ID to return it.
“We get into that mindset that all homeless people are out to get something. This just shows you they still have honor and integrity,” Grabowski said.
Phillips said she thinks the thief threw her purse away after realizing she didn’t have any cash. When the homeless man returned it everything was in place.
“I have a little OCD where I have all my cards facing the same way and all the emblems and this and that. The cards hadn’t even been moved,” she said.
Phillips has been on the lookout for the man. She wants to tell him thank you, not only for returning her purse but for reminding her that all of us, no matter where we live, deserve compassion.
“I could have passed by him on the street everyday and had no idea. I could have judged him while he was digging for cans,” she said.
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