Barman's search for missing wallet leads him to adopting the thief

Bartender Jimmy Gilleece is more than a good barman, he's a saviour of not one, but two, very distressed people. 

The owner of Jimmy's Bar in  North Carolina, he was approached by a flustered customer who had lost her wallet at the bar. To make matters worse, her wedding ring was inside it. 

Jim came to the woman's aid without hesitation, reviewing over three hours of security footage. Eventually he saw that the wallet was left on a bench outside the bar. That was until a shady, hooded, individual picked it up. 

That thief was 17-year-old Rivers Prathers. Confronting the youngster, he confessed that he had taken the money and thrown the wallet in the bay. 

Not satisfied with that answer, Jimmy hired two divers to scour the area for the wallet. And after two days, they found it with the wedding ring still inside. 

Delighted with the success of his search, Jimmy decided to help another person, the youth who had stolen the purse. 

“He was living in the woods, and this is when it was 30 degrees [-1 degree Celsius]  outside, and he hadn't eaten in two days,” he told CBS. “I could tell he wasn't a criminal. He was just somebody who needed a little help.”

He was right, Rivers Prathers did need help. The teenager was estranged from his mother and had been trying to live on his own but had slid into homelessness. 

So Jimmy decided to open his home to him. Rivers now lives with Jimmy and his family, is working two jobs and his a bright future. 

Rivers is eternally grateful that Jimmy didn't turn him over to the police. 

“I say thank you to him every day,” Rivers said. “I’d do anything for him.”

Thanks to one stolen wallet, a homeless youth has a second chance of life.