This Man Had Been Homeless For Three Decades, But Then A Cop Helped Him Find Out His True Identity

[Music] this wasn't deputy sheriff Jacob soir Wells first encounter with Michael Meyers and the law enforcement agent had had enough the homeless man had repeatedly been warned about begging for cash but yet again he was doing so in the same spot in Hayward California so soir well squared up Myers once more and this time you meant business but after the sheriff's deputy asked a routine question the panhandler gave a surprising answer one that led both men on a quest to reveal the truth about Myers identity at first though sois well had come down hard on Myers as the homeless man explained to San Francisco station KPIX in 2017 the official had told him in no uncertain terms you can't be on this freeway anymore and I'm going to write you a ticket there was something else that Myers had to do too in addition soir well demanded that the other man present a form of identification to him an order that was ultimately denied you see the wiry figure in front of the deputy claimed that he didn't actually have an ID on him and this puzzled sois well I immediately asked of Myers why don't you have an ID they recalled the KPIX in 2018 what's more suave well wondered why Myers didn't just apply for Social Security instead of panhandling near the freeway the man's response however may have opened the eyes to the harsh reality of life for some under his jurisdiction I can't get social security because I can't even get an ID Myers replied and owing to this exchange Swallow launched his own investigation into the individual whom he'd stopped on the street that decision would ultimately take both he and Myers on an unexpected journey in fact and it would result in the kind of ending that wouldn't be entirely out of place in a Hollywood movie but who was Myers and how would he come to be living rough on the streets where was his family and why was it that he had no ID well although his story may be unique these circumstances in which he found himself provide a real insight into many end up sleeping on the streets all over the US it turned out for one that Myers life had been difficult from the start he'd been adopted at a young age and his experience of the family that he'd been brought into had been mixed well his new mom had cared for and appreciated him his adoptive siblings that practically turned their backs on their brother the rest of the clan weren't particularly receptive to Myers either then after the California native left high school he began driving trucks for a living but after his adoptive parents passed away and he lost any friends he once had he found himself alone and relying completely on himself life was about to become a lot harder for Myers - ultimately Myers ended up on the streets as so many people do indeed according to official data January 2019 saw eight thousand 22 people sleeping raw for utilizing shelters in Alameda County California in neighboring San Francisco meanwhile the Department of homelessness and supportive housing has reported that as of 2019 there are eight thousand eleven homeless people in the city a rise of about 17 percent in two years but while Myers may have been in the same predicament he bucked several preconceptions about the types of people who find themselves homeless the former truck driver doesn't have any problems with alcohol abuse nor does he use narcotics or smoke he is no prior criminal record either and he's not mentally ill and at 67 years of age Myers is also a senior as it stood then he should have been able to enjoy his retirement he was struggling to scrape together enough money to eat the californian had no one to share his days with nor did he have a roof over his head but as previously mentioned Myers was not on the street because it was an addict instead it was all down to his sheer bad luck and it seemed that he was practically invisible to others - most of the people around me just hurry by and don't even give me a glance Myers told KPIX in 2018 to help raise some cash then Meyers had taken to panhandling and busking outside a subway station with his guitar and of course in that time he'd been noticed by local law enforcement officers including swallow I've given Myers so many warnings the sheriff's deputy explained to KPIX upon questioning Myers though swallow L was stunned to discover his lack of ID had left him in administrative limbo and after learning that Myers was unable to receive any government assistance as a result the official decided to intervene on the other man's behalf speaking to KPIX in 2018 Myers remembered SWA well saying well you've got somebody to help you now I'm going to help you get your ID so you can get your Social Security and get off the street at the time he offered to assist the homeless man though these sheriff's deputy gravely underestimated just how difficult the task would be you see in order to qualify for an ID card in Alameda County a citizen is required to provide two types of proof of residency in California as well as a birth certificate unfortunately Myers had none of those items on hand partly of course because he was of no fixed abode to make matters worse there was no longer any record of Myers ever having had a driver's license despite his previous career and even sois well was initially left scratching his head at the conundrum how does a homeless person come up with two forms of residency the deputy pondered according to KPIX thankfully swallow l was eventually able to come up with a plan that successfully enabled myers to obtain what he was looking for to that end he asked both his employer the Alameda County Sheriff's Department and its church to vouch that myers was a resident of alameda county and thanks to that the homeless man was on his way to secure identification for the first time in years however a swallow continued he also found something that Myers had never clapped eyes on before his own birth certificate and this was momentous not only because it could help the man finally acquire some ID for Myers you see the information given on the document provided an answer that had eluded him for decades Myers had known that he hadn't grown up with his biological parents although that in itself had been a revelation many years ago I didn't even know I was adopted until I was 16 he revealed while talking to KPIX in 2018 still getting access to his birth certificate for the very first time meant that myers was finally able to piece some of the jigsaw pieces of his life together the panhandler discovered for example that he had entered the world in Oakland's Highland Hospital right in the heart of Alameda County as a consequence then Myers truly could call this part of the world home and of course the document also mentions his adoptive parents by name then sois Wells actions came to the attention of KPIX which first uncovered the feel-good tale in 2017 and while talking to the station the sheriff's deputy opened up about his quest I started to get know more about Myers and realized that he didn't need a citation he needed someone to help him sois well claimed Myers added we both realized at the same time that there's a real person there and not just a stereotype we saw when we first met each other when KPIX aired its segment on SWA well and Myers heartwarming tale though a viewer at home decided that he would step into yes after becoming acquainted with Myers plight private investigator Mark as conds chose to get involved luckily askins was involved with the organization miracle messages which seeks to put homeless people back in touch with their nearest and dearest and according to the PI a comment that Myers had given during the press coverage and stayed with him Myers kept saying I'm lonely I don't have anybody in my life askins later recalled to KPIX so after getting the go-ahead for myers askins put his skill to the test by digging into the sixty seven year olds past and fortunately the investigator had a little information to go on too Myers had shared for instance that his birth name had been Oakley he also believed that his birth mother had been called Nicole consequently askins headed to the Alameda County Courthouse to pore through family records and it was there that he began to unravel the mystery that was Myers background during an interview with KPIX Askins revealed some pertinent information regarding the homeless man's lost relatives here we have a case involving Wiley Albert Oakley and a Marie Pauline Oakley he told the station referring to a particular document then after noting the relevant case numbers Askins perused microfilm records and unearthed vital information about Marie Pauline Oakley Meyers birth mother at only 16 years of age Oakley had eloped with a sailor stationed at the nearby Naval Air Station Alameda tying the knot in Reno the couple subsequently settled in the sailors home state of Tennessee then sometime later Oakley returned home accompanied by a son and pregnant once more her mother decided to that she would try to legally and Oakley's marriage the young woman's mom angled for an annulment on the grounds that at the time of the elopement Oakley had not been 18 the age of consent in California yet even though Askins seemed to have struck gold with this discovery he still needed to find Oakley herself and given that Myers her son was a senior it was very possible that Oakley may have already passed away as luck would have it though askins uncovered a phone number that looked as though it belonged to the right person 1 Marie Pauline Oakley who lived in Humboldt County happily that woman was indeed Myers mother and upon discovering that the child whom she'd given up for adoption the same baby she'd been carrying upon a return to the Bay Area had been looking for Oakley known as poly had no doubts that she wanted to see him first a call was arranged between the two and appropriately Myers and of the conversation took place at the Alameda County Sheriff's Department where he was accompanied by sois well Askins was present too when Myers finally reconnected with his mom after decades apart this is David Charles Oakley open Meyers using his birth name and the response was overwhelming my son Oakley exclaimed it may have been a heartwarming moment for all listening in but none more so than for the homeless man and his birth mother who lived only 300 miles or so away then during the rest of the call the mom and son chatted started to fill in the gaps of the intervening decades there may have been questions on Myers part to Wyatt Oakley put her son up for adoption all those years ago and what it ultimately led to the decision that had changed Myers life ultimately Utley recalled the events of the time one that had begun when she'd arrived in the Smoky Mountains as a young bride back then her new husband was frequently absent leaving her in the hands of her mother-in-law for weeks at a time it turned out to that the older woman had been manipulating and cruel and she had had no qualms about keeping Oakley hungry and in extreme poverty finally after having done everything she could to protect and feed herself at her firstborn the teenager plucked up enough courage to return to her mother in California after Myers had been born and had grown to become a toddler though his mom received some devastating news the little boy had a hole in his stomach and sadly there was no way Oakley could raise the funds for the operation that her son so badly required my back was against a wall I had to do what was best for him I could have never afforded that surgery I had no idea if he didn't get the surgery would he die hopefully explain to KPIX in 2018 but Oakleys own mother had an answer adoption as it happened a family who attended her church were happy to take the boy in and Oakley thus decided that the best option was to give her son off yet that isn't the end of the story just a couple weeks after that momentous phone call between Myers and Oakley the homeless man was on a flight to finally reunite with his birth mother Myers met a stepfather too as well as a whole host of other relatives that he hadn't even known existed just a matter of weeks before he didn't just get a mom he got a whole family and they all descended him at one time Oakley revealed while talking to KPIX touchingly Oakley added over son he suddenly discovered he has family when he thought he was alone in the world I have one more person to love and Myers himself struggled to grasp the chain of events that had led him to this moment who'd have thought that something like this could have happened anybody let alone me he exclaimed to KPIX but of course myers hadn't reached this point alone SWA wall and askins had helped along the way and oakley was especially effusive in her praise for the law enforcement officer I want to see where your wings are because you brought my son home to me the grateful mom told the deputy after that myers started to get the support he needs as a disabled senior citizen finally gaining health coverage he put in an application to receive Social Security - and best of all he now has a family to call his own thanks of course to the kindness of two strangers