Deputy helps homeless MSU student on cold night

An Oktibbeha County deputy, checking on what seemed to be an abandoned car, ended up providing much-needed aid to a homeless Mississippi State student earlier this month.

Starkville police officer Drew Jones posted a photo of Deputy John Rice and a man at Waffle House with the following caption:

"Last night Deputy John Rice got a call bout a motionless body in a car, come to find out it's this young man from another country who came here for MSU but is homeless. Well Deputy Rice decided to take him to Waffle House let him order as much as he could eat and paid for him a hotel room.. and today his parents contacted Deputy Rice, said they have been looking for him for well over a year and that he suffers from a social interaction type disease. Now he is reunited with his mother and father all because Deputy Rice took the time to treat this man like we all would hope and pray to be treated."

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Rice told WCBI's Jory Tally that he just had a feeling he needed to check out that car.

“Just driving along and noticed a vehicle that’s been parked there for a long time, and I decided to turn around and check that vehicle," he said. "And when I did, there was a person inside.”

Rice found that the man was a homeless international student from MSU, and so he and his fellow officers took the man to get some food. They also reached into their wallets and got him a hotel room for the night. 

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"Me and him talk all throughout the nights we work and are very good friends. When this happened he called me saying, 'Come to Waffle House,'" Jones said. "They may be county and I may be city but we work hand in hand every single night and help each other out on calls as much as possible."

Jones said heI posted the story just to let people know of the giving heart of his good friend.

"I had no idea it would be shared over 1000 times with over 5000 likes and 500 comments on just my status alone. No idea how many others shared it," Jones said. "John told me he had people he hasn't talked to in 20 years from all over the county see it and contact him."

Rice also told WCBI that he feels a little bit personally connected to the case because the man was reconnected with his family. Rice said he has a son who is missing, and he's glad he could provide that bridge for the student's family.

“As a father who has a son that’s missing also, it feels rewarding because I really wish that someone would return that favor and return my son,” he said.

Contact Therese Apel at tapel@gannett.com. Follow her on Facebook and Twitter.