SAND SPRINGS, Okla. — A panhandler in Sand Springs has been seen canvassing the community of Prattville daily, in a white van and cardboard sign.
Those in the community familiar with the man, warn others to not give him money-- they said his message is a lie.
Deranda Kanmore told 2 Works for You she was with the Prattville Panhandler for five years, one year into the relationship, they had a boy named Matthew.
Matthew turned ten in August, he is now living in New Mexico with his adoptive parents. Kanmore is fortunate enough to still talk to her son and gets to see him on occasion.
“I get to see him, he comes down and gets to stay with me for a few hours and we go to the park, you know", Kanmore says.
Several pictures started to circulate around social media showing a panhandler with a message etched on his van and cardboard sign that said: "lost son and house to fire."
The man also created a GoFundMe page with the same message about his son.
Kanmore said, “whenever I see this about lost son and house to fire and been in a coma for two months and didn’t even get to attend the funeral I’m just like, ‘What?’”
She wants to expose the man so no one else mistakenly gives him a hand out for his 'lost son,' who is living in New Mexico, and to not expose Matthew to the manipulative tactics of his father.
“He wouldn’t let it show but I honestly think it would hurt him to find out something like that. And it would crush me to know that he would find out that," Kanmore said.
People in the Sand Springs community said they see the panhandler a lot at the Super Save, QuikTrip, and Braums in Prattville.
For anyone that is worried about his page and others like it, a GoFundMe representative told 2 Works for You that the site verifies valid banking information before any payment is released.
The representative said, if someone spots a false fundraiser on the site, they should report it to GoFundMe.
Stay in touch with us anytime, anywhere --
- Download our free app for Apple, Android and Kindle devices.
- Sign up for daily newsletters emailed to you
- Like us on Facebook
- Follow us on Instagram
- Follow us on Twitter
