Action News viewer helps reunite homeless man and daughter

By Beth Fisher

CREATED Mar. 14, 2013

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  • A local woman is helping a homeless man be reunited with his daughter after she say story on Good Morning Las Vegas Video by ktnv.com

    video

  • Las Vegas homeless man Jimmy Francis

  • Las Vegas realtor Jim Snyder and his wife Maria helped homeless man Jimmy Francis reconnect with his daughter.

  • Tonya Hallet talks about why she decided to help homeless man Jimmy Francis after seeing his story.

  • A picture of Tonya Hallett's homeless father -- the reason she is helping a local homeless man.

  • Jimmy Francis' spoke to his daughter Natalie for the first time in 24 years via Skype.

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Las Vegas, NV (KTNV) -- A Las Vegas homeless man is very close to reuniting with his daughter for the first time in 24 years.  

This is a story we broke last week and now, it's all over the national media. A Las Vegas couple helped a local homeless man find his daughter online and now one of our viewers is flying her here so the two can meet.

We were there when realtor Jim Snyder and his wife Maria set up Skype for Jimmy Francis so he could see his daughter for the first time in 24 years.
 
Daughter Natalie said she was shocked when she got a Facebook message from the Snyders asking if she was the daughter of Jimmy Francis. "I was overwhelmed. It was unbelievable. I was on the Internet the day before looking for him and to get that message was just really amazing."
 
The morning the original story aired, Las Vegas viewer Tonya Hallett was walking through her kitchen and stopped dead in her tracks.  
 
"Growing up and knowing that my father was homeless and that not having that relationship with him and always wondering where, why, and how I could possibly meet him."
 
Tonya Hallett recently got a picture of her own father and although he is mentally ill and she can't have a relationship with him, she always longed to know he was safe.  
 
"A mutual friend found him for us and sent me a picture saying he is alive and well. And I'm sure Natalie felt the same way. When she saw her father's face. He's alive and well."
 
Within an hour of the story airing, Tanya sent us a message saying she's like to donate an airline ticket to Jimmy Francis' daughter so she can come and see her father face to face.  
 
"In my mind when I thought of it,  I just thought of it as a ticket. I didn't think of it as a big thing. I guess it was a way for me to heal as well. The fact that it was so close to home for me. It's just a gift to give back."
 
Tonya's not the only one helping. Since our story went national, people all over the country are donating money to help him get back on his feet.
 
Las Vegas Viewers have called offering Jimmy a ride to California when he's able to move in with his daughter; they've offered a home for Jimmy until that happens; they've offered dental care; and dog food for the puppies he rescued. One viewer even offered to spay or neuter his dogs.
 
Natalie flies in on Friday and we'll be there for the reunion.