Claremore Mom Thanks Police for Saving Her Daughter’s Birthday

On Saturday, September 19th, my daughter, Jerzei Murray, insisted we attend the Rogers County Fair. That Sunday was her birthday, and this year was her dad’s turn to have her on her “actual” birthday. So Saturday was my day to make sure she knew she was special. She was turning six years old.

I gave her money for the day to spend on anything she wanted for an early birthday present. I held onto it so she wouldn’t lose it; I had it in my back pocket. After riding a ride and playing a couple of games, we decided to get something to drink. I got money out of my pocket and she then said that the line was too long, and she’d rather wait on the drink. I put the money back into my pocket and walked to the next ride. As Jerzei got on the ride, I pulled my phone out of my pocket and then I realized the money was GONE. Every penny I had, plus her $100 for her birthday.

I was freaking out and felt like I was going to pass out. A few girls helped me search for it with no luck. I tried to hold my emotions in and just play it off, but as soon as Jerzei got off the ride, she wanted a drink. I had to explain to her what happened, and she said, “That’s okay, Mom. Let’s just go to Lost and Found and it will be there because that’s where things get taken when people lose them.” I knew there was no way in the world that someone would turn in $141 in cash. But I went to the ticket booth, explained what happened and left my information.

We walked away and she was still so positive. She spotted a Claremore police officer and a Rogers County deputy and said, “Mom, let’s go tell the cops and see if they know anything!” I decided to give it a try.

By this time, I was an emotional wreck. I was trying to stop my tears from rolling past my sunglasses and explain to them what happened. They told me I could file a report, but I knew the odds of finding the person were one in a million.

So we told the officers ‘thank you’ and I told her it would be okay; I’d call Nanna. (my mom, who was there with us but was inside the Expo Center) I called her and she came to us. She got Jerzei a drink and took her to ride a couple rides while I got hold of my emotions and wiped my tears. My heart was ripped into a million pieces. I walked around and searched everywhere, even digging through the trash can I had used earlier.

Still nothing. I accepted that the money was gone, although I knew it wasn’t right for someone to pocket that money I’d saved to give her, money I can’t replace. But maybe he or she needed it more. Maybe that person had kids who haven’t gotten to do as much as my kid has. So I tried to see it as, “Maybe our loss was some other child’s dream come true, to be able to have a great time that day.” Resigned, I waited for my mom and Jerzei to meet back up with me.

As I waited, a Claremore police officer walked up to me and said, “I heard you lost money.” I responded, “Yes, sir.” He said, “And it’s your daughter’s birthday and that was her money, right?” I couldn’t hold my tears back any longer. He said, “Well, I have something to give you.” He explained that somebody saw me searching for the money and heard what happened and wanted to give me $100 anonymously. I almost passed out; I was speechless. I begged him to tell me who it was, but he refused. I cried and thanked him profusely. I walked to meet Jerzei and I led her back toward the police. I walked over to the officer and asked him if he could give the money to my daughter and explain what happend.

So he did. He explained to her that someone had witnessed what happened and wanted to give her something. She smiled from ear to ear! He handed my baby that $100 bill. She looked at me like, “Mommy, is it okay?” She was so happy. I give her that look of “I have no words, baby, it’s fine.” I couldn’t believe this was happening!

Through the shock, happiness and tears these three men supported us 100%.

(I want to add: it wasn’t about the amount of money that brought happiness to our hearts, it was the goodhearted man who took his hard earned money to make my baby’s day. I could not replace this money; I work full time and am a single mom of two babies.)

Then the other officer said, “Jerzei Murray, I hear it’s your birthday. How old are you?” She said really quietly, “Six.” She was in absolute shock.

He then said, “I need you to do me a favor and wait right here for a minute.” She said, “Yes, sir.” She waited and he returned and gave her a birthday present, a little pink beanie baby, which is crazy, because beanie babies are her favorite!

She felt so special and she said, “Mom, we have to do something good for those cops. They saved my birthday!” I said, “Honey, we will!”

Claremore Police and RoCo Sheriff’s Department, thank you so much for the time you spent talking to us and making my daughter’s day turn into something she’ll never forget.

My mom couldn’t believe what happened, and she insisted the officers tell her who the anonymous donor was. She wanted to make sure he knew how much this meant, but they still couldn’t tell.

It turns out, my mom was telling her friend what happened and that girl’s husband had seen who gave the officer the money, so we got to thank him in the end. I wish I could include his name in this, but he requested to stay anonymous. He’s a business owner in Claremore and when we asked him why he did such a nice thing, his response was, “I can’t stand seeing someone sad.”

Sir, you’re amazing. Thank you from the bottom of my family’s heart! I was confused on how to approach this amazing deed you did because I didn’t want to offend you. I can’t thank you enough.

Thank you Claremore Police Department and Rogers County Sheriff’s Department again. We are having her birthday party this Saturday. So if y’all wanna make a special appearance Saturday, you’re more than welcome!

God bless you, good men. I hope this story goes viral to prove that Rogers County isn’t so bad!