Bobsledder's family finds kindness in strangers after being scammed
American bobsledder Steve Mesler is part of a team that is favored to win gold in Vancouver, and his family wanted to be there to support him. But when Mesler's mother tried to rent a home near the bobsled track, a scam artist took the money and gave the Mesler's a fake address.
After news of their plight hit the media, the Meslers have been inundated with offers of help from strangers all over Canada. They have a home to stay in while watching Steve go for gold, and now Procter & Gamble has offered to cover the $7,000 the family lost to the criminal who answered an internet post looking for lodging for the Mesler clan.
"The Olympics move people," said Mesler, a push athlete for the reigning four-man world and World Cup championship sled from the U.S. "That's the bottom line. I've thought that since I was a kid."
Mesler's mother, Lois, said that she has received messages of support from all over the world and from complete strangers.
Vancouver hasn't had the easiest go of hosting the Olympics, but it's heart-warming to hear how its citizens have gotten into the Olympic spirit. Without it, the Meslers would have been stuck at home when their son was in the most important competition of of his life.
