There's nothing quite like the bond between a father and his daughter. This bond is still there even when the daughter has never met her dad.

Mikayla Raji is an 8 year-old girl from New Jersey who sadly never got to meet her father, as he died before she was born. Her father was a police officer who was tragically killed by a drunk driver.

Recently, Mikayla and her mother had dinner at Villa Borghese, a nearby Italian restaurant.

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Police officer Joseph Quinn was at the restaurant eating that very same night. When Joseph tried to pay for his meal, the waitress informed him that someone had already paid his bill. Joseph then asked who had paid it, but the waitress refused to tell him, as the person wanted to remain anonymous.

Using his skills as a police officer, Joseph went about trying to figure out who the mystery person was. Eventually, he realized that it was Mikayla!

Though she never got the chance to meet her own father, Mikayla always respected police officers and understood the sacrifices that they make for others.

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Joseph was so touched by Mikayla's gesture that he decided to start a collection for her in order to pay for her schooling. Since he started it, the collection has raised over $15,000 for her from donations from people all over the country!

It's incredibly sad that Mikayla lost her father and exceptionally heartwarming to know that she received such a generous outpouring of support for her respect of police officers! You can find out more about this incredible story in the video below!

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