Pitt Meadows Student Finds $800, Returns It To Deaf Exchange Student

Living in a foreign country can be challenging enough, and losing the bag that holds all of your ID and hundreds of dollars would be a disaster.

So when a student from Pitt Meadows, B.C. found a purse that turned out to belong to a deaf exchange student, she knew she had to track the owner down.

Parasto Sobhani, 27, was riding the 99 B-line bus to Vancouver earlier this month when she spotted the purse on a bench outside. Another man seemed to be eyeing the bag so she jumped off the bus to retrieve it.

When Sobhani opened the purse, she found $800 in cash.

According to the temporary visa and student card inside, the owner was a deaf exchange student from China.

"I never had a doubt in my mind that I was going to do whatever possible to return it to the rightful owner," Sobhani told HuffPost B.C.

The psychology student tried to track down the girl through different avenues: Facebook, the specialized high school listed on her student card, the girl's bank, and even her gym.

After hours of searching, Sobhani got in touch with one of the girl's friends, who arranged a meeting.

The purse's owner, who didn't want to be identified because she often carries large sums of cash, was so thrilled to get everything back that she brought a bouquet of flowers for Sobhani.

"She had some difficulty speaking, but I could tell that she was trying to make out 'thank you, thank you' over and over," said Sobhani.

"She was so grateful that it made me cry, that I could make someone so happy simply by doing the right thing."