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good samaritan

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Good Samaritans save a kidnapped boy after following up on an AMBER Alert

The boy's father was delivering food when he was car-jacked.

via ABC 7 News

Reagan Dunn and Yenni Lu located Justin Chan after an Amber Alert.

Since being established in Texas in 1996, Amber Alerts have been implemented in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands and have been incredibly effective at preventing child abductions.

As of December 31, 2023, over 1200 children have been successfully through the program, which was named after Amber Hagerman, who was abducted and murdered in Arlington, Texas, 28 years ago.

The alerts are delivered through TV broadcasts, radio, text messages and cable TV, deputizing the general public to help find a kidnapped child immediately after they’ve been reported missing. Back in February, an autistic child who was abducted from his father was recovered in under 3 hours after 2 friends took action.

It all started on February 13, 2024 when Kim Chan was delivering food in downtown Long Beach, California. He left the car running while he made his delivery and while he was gone, a carjacker stole his car. To make a terrible situation worse, his 4-year-old son, Justin, was in the backseat. After the carjacker drove away, the father contacted the police and the California Highway Patrol issued an Amber Alert.

Right around that time, Reagan Dunn and Yenni Lu, both 20, from nearby Huntington Beach, were cruising downtown Long Beach and just “hanging out” when they received the alert on their phones. “We had nothing else to do so, we were like, ‘Hey, let’s go look,’” Dunn told the Long Beach Post.

A few minutes later, they drove past a Honda Accord parked in front of an outlet mall that matched the description in the alert. They checked the incense plate and it was a match. “I thought maybe I was seeing things,” Dunn said.

The women quickly called 911 and stayed by the car, waiting for officers to arrive.

By 8:10 that night, Justin was reunited with his parents. "The vehicle was located by two Good Samaritans who found the car and immediately called 9-1-1. We would like to thank them for this act of heroism in finding this young boy," the Long Beach Police Department said in a statement.

The Long Beach Police later identified the carjacking suspect by reviewing footage from security cameras in the area. After stealing the car, he promptly abandoned it at the outlet mall located a few blocks away from where it was stolen. Timothy Wood, 34, who is experiencing homelessness, was booked on suspicion of kidnapping, child endangerment, and vehicle theft and his bail was set at $100,000.

Dunn and Lu’s heroic act to help save the young boy is another great example of California's successful Amber Alert program. Since 2002, it has been activated over 320 times in the state, involving over 380 victims and over 97% have been safely recovered. “The program definitely works, and it's getting better every year,” the California Highway Patrol says on its website.

The Amber Alert program is an excellent reminder that when you call on people to help in a crisis, more often than not, someone will always step up and do what’s right.

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This motorist's kind gesture is a reminder that we should all do good.

You're headed for work when you see someone stuck on the side of the road. What do you do?

Most of us would probably have to admit that we usually keep driving when we see situations like these. We tell ourselves that the stranded person is probably fine or that someone else will stop.

That’s why this video of a man stepping out of his truck to help an elderly man has already racked up over 6 million views on Facebook and is making headlines around the country.

The clip shows a driver abandoning his truck on a busy street to gently guide a man with a walker to safety from oncoming traffic.



Truck driver helps elderly man cross the street

Motorist captures the heartwarming moment a kind driver hopped out of his truck to help an elderly man across a busy road in Griffin, Georgia. The good samaritan stopped traffic to make sure he got to the other side of the street safely.

Posted by ABC News on Tuesday, March 13, 2018

Since being posted on March 11, the video’s been gathering attention from the masses.

And while some people seem to have taken the moment to preach about traffic safety (there’s always someone!), most reacted by commenting on the motorist’s humanity and good-heartedness — two things we all need more of in our daily lives.

E'Ondria Weems, the woman who shot the video, told local news station 11 Alive in Atlanta that she was concerned about the elderly man when she saw him trying to make it across the street. But before she could do anything, she said, the truck driver already had things in hand, making the man’s safety his top priority.

"It was so nice of him to do that. Makes you think there are still nice people in this world," Weems told the station.

What’s extraordinary about the video is just how ordinary it is.

Justin Jackson, the man who’s since been identified as the good Samaritan, said he wasn’t doing anything special. "The old man was walking across the streets and people were flying by and I was like 'l got to stop,'” he told 11 Alive.

We all know we should help other people, but we’re often too busy or preoccupied to notice all the small good deeds we could be doing to make each other’s lives easier.

Often, we become so caught up in global issues that we forget about the change we can effect in our own communities.

That’s why the acts of people like Justin Jackson and Evoni Williams — the Waffle House waitress who recently got viral attention after helping a man cut his food — are so important. They’re reminders that we could all be doing better and helping our fellow people.

And what we do doesn't have to be huge. As Jackson proves, it could be as simple as taking 30 seconds out of your day to steer someone to safety.

Take a look around as you go into the world today, and if there’s a chance for you to be kind to someone else, take it. Sure, a camera may snap the incident and turn you into a viral celeb for a moment, but the support you’ll provide and the reminder that the world can be a kind place is worth way more than any other attention or reward you might receive.

Friendship

A stranger found a lost library book and returned it with this heartwarming note.

Image created from Pixabay.

Nobody enjoys having an overdue library book.

Employees at Idaho's Meridian Library were going through the mail after the Thanksgiving holiday 2017 when they got a sweet surprise.

Inside one of the packages was a book — Thomas Rockwell's "How to Eat Fried Worms" — that had been missing from the stacks.

Getting books in the mail is no major shock at Meridian. The library finds that visitors passing through or patrons going on vacation will often mail back items to avoid fines.

Along with this particular book, however, there was a curious handwritten note.

"I found this book on an airplane last month," the message began.

"I called your library to notify them. I failed to return on time (and) apologize. Please add this $5.00 to the person's account that borrowed the book as a credit. Thank you."

Sure enough, along with the note was a $5 bill.

Found in the mail with a $5 bill this morning. There are some amazing people in our community. #mymld
Posted by Meridian Library District on Monday, November 27, 2017


The good Samaritan had been hoping to get the book back to the library before the due date but couldn't and decided to assume responsibility for the late fee.


Obviously, they were under no obligation to pay the fine, and their small, understated generosity floored the library staff.


Knowing you have a book overdue at the library and not being able to find it is one of those little stresses that can add up big time.


It's like having a sink full of dirty dishes or being behind on laundry. It's not a source of massive worry, but many unresolved things added together can make you feel anxious and overwhelmed — too much of which is certainly bad for your health.

So while a stranger returning a book and paying $5 in fines may seem inconsequential, the act is inspiring thousands of people who have read about the story online.

"Everyone is loving this heartwarming story," says Macey Snelson, who heads communications and marketing for the library. "I think that this is resonating with people so much because we live in a world where the news cycles are filled with contention and negative stories, and it's refreshing to see a story that shows that people are inherently good."

This story proves that even a teeny, tiny act of kindness, in a small part of the country, can have a big impact.

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This guy dropped everything to search for a stranger's missing wedding ring.

​For Brandon Potter and his wife, Debbie, a recent day at the beach nearly turned into a nightmare.

While enjoying the sunshine at Tobay Beach in Long Island, New York, Debbie Potter took her wedding ring off to put sunscreen on their two kids. But later, as the family was leaving for the day, they realized she never put the ring back on. And no one knew where it was.

All photos by Brandon Potter, used with permission.

Brandon sprinted back to their spot in the sand, some 50 yards from the crashing waves, and searched frantically. But a storm was rolling in and some nearby police officers, after helping with the search for a few minutes, told them unfortunately they'd have to leave. The beach was being evacuated.

"We both were heartbroken," Brandon said. "The ring was sentimental to us. It was made for my wife. It was a one of a kind ring."

Determined not to give up, Brandon put out a call on Facebook, hoping someone — anyone — would help.

"I go home and I make this post on Facebook on all of these pages I belong to, just hoping that someone would have the heart to give [the ring] back to us if they found it," he said.

But, miraculously, he got something even better.

A complete stranger named Mike Jandris replied, matter-of-factly, that he would be at the beach in 35 minutes. With his metal detector.

Relieved, Brandon hopped in the car, stopped by an ATM (he had promised a reward to anyone who found the ring), and met Jandris at the beach.

"I was on edge," Brandon said. "I was about 50/50 if he would find it."

Within five minutes, the two men found the missing wedding ring.

"I jumped up and gave him a hug. It meant so much to me that this guy was willing to do this," Brandon said.

Brandon tried to give the kind stranger some money, but Jandris wasn't interested. All he wanted were a few pictures to remember the experience.

"This is what Mike does for fun," Brandon said. "He goes and looks for things all the time for people."

Brandon says that in circles of folks who scour the beach for lost items, finding high-value jewelry like custom-made wedding rings is considered a badge of honor. Some say finders keepers, but good guys like Jandris just enjoy helping folks out.

"Now Mike has a good story to tell," Brandon said.

Brandon says that he now considers Jandris a true friend. For life.

Brandon put up another Facebook post later thanking Mr. Jandris for his incredible generosity. The message quickly went viral.

And amid the swirl of support, comments, shares, and media coverage, Brandon says he and Jandris have kept in touch and even met up a few times.

They're both excited to see so many people responding to their story.

"With everything bad going on, people need to see stories like this," Brandon said.

He's absolutely right.

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