Posted by: Bethany on 02/07/2008 02:54 PM
Updated by: Kim_Hamilton on 02/08/2008 11:44 AM
Expires: 01/01/2013 12:00 AM
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Calaveras Sheriffs, Jackson Police Raise Money For Beijing Teen Who Lost Purse in Jackson ~ By Bethany Monk (Updated With Video)
San Andreas, C.A….Calaveras and Amador county law enforcement agencies have more than made up for the $800 that Beijing exchange student, Hong Wang, 15, lost when her purse went missing in the Jackson Wal-Mart last week...
....Thursday, Feb. 7, members of both the Calaveras County Sheriff’s Department and the Jackson Police Department in Amador County, presented Wang with a new handbag and a purse full of $800 raised by the departments. They also donated an extra $775, also raised by the departments, to her exchange program.
Wang, one of the students in the Educational Resource Development Trust (ERDT) program lead by Angels Camp resident Jody Roebuck, has been visiting the United States for the past two weeks with the program. Last week, the group went to Wal-Mart for one of their excursions. Wang accidentally left her purse, which had $800 spending money inside it, in the restroom. When she returned for the purse, it was nowhere to be found.
Wal-Mart employees searched the store and “combed through the parking lot,” and could not find the purse, according to Roebuck, who praised the employees’ efforts.
When Sgt. Dave Seawell of the Calaveras County Sheriff’s Department heard about the incident from Roebuck last week, he decided to help the young girl. The Calaveras Sheriff’s Deputies Association then donated $500, and after “passing the hat around” the department, $275 more was raised for the girl. The Jackson Police Department chipped in raising $800.
Thursday morning, Seawell, along with Jackson Police Chief Scott Morrison and Sgt. Todd Breedlove, also of the Jackson Police Department, surprised Wang during a special presentation outside the Calaveras Sheriff’s Department in San Andreas. Wang, her fellow program participants, about 15 students from China, along with Roebuck and the group’s coordinator, Bonnie Gibson, gathered outside the department to present the deputy and police officers with gifts thanking them for tours of their respective departments.
After the presentation, Seawell surprised Wang with a new purse full of the donated money, and, for fun, a small handbag with a handcuff attached to it.
“I don’t know how to say this,” Wang said, visibly surprised, as she opened the envelop full of cash. “I thank you for your kindness.”
“That way you can go to Disneyland,” Seawell said.
The group has plans to go to Disneyland and SeaWorld in the next few days, Roebuck said. The program costs cover their trips, but participants typically like to bring spending money for other activities and souvenirs. Wang will receive $800 of the donated money, and the remaining $775 will go toward the program’s general funds.
“We want to thank both the Jackson Police Department and the Calaveras Sheriff’s Department for their humanitarian effort,” Roebuck said after the presentation. “You epitomize what ERDT is all about – fostering good will.”
“I have four kids of my own,” Seawell said in a brief interview after the presentation. “I hope somebody would do the same for them.”
No police report has been filed regarding the missing purse, Roebuck said.
ERDT is an exchange program that offers international teens the opportunity to learn about the American culture.
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