Homeless man who returned diamond engagement ring receives over $175K in donations and is reconnected with his long-lost family after 16 years

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Billy Ray Harris kept the ring safe for the woman who had mistaken dropped it into his collection cup
Sarah Darling and her husband setup a fundraising page for Harris which has so far raised more than $175,000
The publicity surrounding Harris' good deed has also enabled his sister to reconnect with him after 16 years
Harris plans to spent his money on a house and a trip to visit his relatives in Texas

Published: 11:04 EST, 6 March 2013 | Updated: 11:25 EST, 6 March 2013

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A homeless man in Kansas City, Missouri has received more than he could ever have imagined after he returned a diamond engagement ring to its rightful owner last month.

Sarah Darling and her husband were so taken with Billy Ray Harris' act of kindness that they set-up an online fundraising page on giveforward.com which has so far more than $175,000 for the homeless man who had regularly been sleeping under a bridge.

Now Harris has been further blessed after the publicity surrounding his good deed has helped him to reconnect with his estranged family in Texas, where he is originally from.

Billy Ray Harris has been overwelmed by people's donations but reconnecting with his long-lost family is even better

Billy Ray Harris has been overwhelmed by people's donations but reconnecting with his long-lost family is even better, he says

Billy Ray’s younger sister, Robin Harris had been looking for her brother for 16 years and even thought he might be dead before she was astonished to turn on the TV news two weeks ago and hear about his kindness.

Since then brother and sister have reconnected during a series of long and emotional telephone conversations during which they caught up on the past decade and a half.

‘It was nice. I was crying,’ she told TODAY.com. ‘I was happy to hear from my brother. I told him I just couldn't believe he stayed homeless for so long when he knew he could come back. I would always give my brother a place to stay.’

Robin has also helped Billy Ray to get back in touch with their three other siblings, as well as numerous nieces and nephews, some of whom he didn’t even know existed.

Human kindness: Billy Ray Harris returned a diamond engagement ring to owner Sarah Darling after she mistakenly dropped it in his collection cup

Darling had put her engagement ring in her purse for safekeeping, but then emptied the contents into Harris' collection cup by mistake

Billy Ray says he is overjoyed to be back in touch with his siblings. ‘I hadn't talked to her in so many years. I was totally excited and surprised,’ he said of speaking to his sister again after so long.

When Sarah Darling accidentally dropped her engagement ring into Billy Ray's donation cup she set off a chain of events which have changed his life forever.

Harris hopes to use the money generously donated to him by strangers to buy an apartment and fly back to Texas to see his long lost family.

More than 7,000 people have donated money to help Billy Ray after his act of kindness inspired them

Darling and husband Bill Krejci have meet with Harris again to tell him that they've set up a fundraising page

Paying it back: Darling and husband Bill Krejci who set up the fundraising page for Harris

Darling's husband Bill Krejci, who set-up the donations page, has also been helping Harris to get his identification documents straightened out so that he can open a bank account to access the donations raised for him.

In the meantime Harris is also off the streets and has been staying in the basement of a friend in return for working as a roadie for the man's jazz band.

Harris says he’s excited about what the future holds, and is most thankful that the amazing experience has helped him to get back in touch with his siblings.

‘That's the main thing,’ he said. ‘To me, that's the best thing to come out of this whole deal.’