Mississippi Strong: Rankin County Deputy returns lost wallet to Illinois veteran

JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) - Deputy Stefan Williams returned a lost item to a 76-year-old Navy veteran, but little did he know he’d receive something special in return.

“There still are people out there that care, and people you can trust.”

For Deputy Stefan Williams, it’s in his blood to serve.

Not just the streets of Rankin County but the people of his country serving nearly 10 years in the armed forces.

“I have always had it in me to serve my community,” he said.

While out on the job, Deputy Williams came across a wallet in the middle of Highway 49. He didn’t think twice before stopping traffic to retrieve the lost wallet.

“I just knew I needed to get this to them," he said. "I looked at the age and saw he was an older man and from Illinois, so I knew he was probably worried about all his stuff.”

Inside the wallet Deputy Williams found nearly $1,000 dollars along with several credit cards.

What turned out to be just part of the job for Deputy Williams ended up being a Christmas miracle for Owen Kroese.

“It was coming up around Christmas time and I knew he was probably worried sick about it,” Williams said.

“Officer Williams took the time to go to FedEx and shipped it to him at his own expense. Wow.. that’s so rare these days.”

Billy Bryant showed up on behalf of his uncle to personally thank Deputy Williams.

“I wish he was here himself. He is just not able to travel,” Bryant explained.

Bryant found back tears when he explained just how much this simple act of kindness meant to his uncle.

“He was just so overwhelmed with the generosity and the integrity officer Williams showed. This day and age you just don’t see that.”

What Deputy Williams didn’t expect was a hand written letter from Mr. Owens thanking him for returning his lost items.

“It’s just part of the job here," Williams said. "I always want to do good things for other people.”

That wasn’t all. Inside the letter was a $1,000 check to be donated to the Rankin County Sheriff’s Benevolent Fund.

“It makes me feel so good that we have these kinds of people at the sheriffs office protecting our communities.”

“We do have good cops, honest cops out there. For my son to be one of them it is such a blessing and I am so proud of him,” said Sharon Essex, Deputy Williams’ proud mother.

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