BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — An act of kindness to make a 9-year-old boy's day has touched the hearts of many Western New Yorkers.
It all started with a family's long day of travel, and a missing carry-on bag with a few invaluable items in it.
Picture this: it is March 14 and you and your family have spent the entire day in the air, waiting on your next flight.
After finally stepping off the plane at Buffalo-Niagara International Airport, you notice two of your most favorite items are nowhere to be found.
"We got home and realized that the bag was not with us and Jonah was devastated. We were devastated because this little guy was here with him since birth and he's been very attached to it," Jonah's dad, John Spaschak said.
Described as a 'Bills season ticket holder' bag, 9-year-old Jonah Spaschak's bag contained something with a strong sentimental value: his blanket "Dottie" and his stuffed giraffe "Giraffie".
When they went back to the airport, the boy's prized-possession was gone without a trace.
"We asked God for helpers and he brought us helpers, in the form of Officer Scott Massey who was so awesome taking the actual police report and immediately checking the cameras," Spaschak said.
NFTA Transit Police Aviation Division commander, Captain Louis Loubert said, "This report in particular stuck out to me because it made a mention of a stuffed animal and the significance of it. In addition, there was an iPad that was taken and there was more interest than getting the stuffed animal back instead of the iPad."
The family emailed the NFTA Transit Police and they were able to view their security footage, and noticed someone had walked away with the bag.
John and Kelly sent a photo of the two items to Captain Loubert who then spent hours searching Facebook and eBay for a replica.
"It was the last search that I did at the 3-hour mark. It was the exact giraffe that Jonah had lost," Captain Loubert said. "There is one thing that I have learned in law enforcement; people will forget what you say, they'll forget what you do but they'll never ever forget how you made them feel."
The eBay giraffe seller was out of Texas. Captain Loubert said he reached out via email and they were kind enough to drop the shipping charges to Buffalo.
Finding another blanket only took him five minutes, according to Captain Loubert.
Both items were produced ten years ago, which is why he could not find it.
"There was really very little that we could do. Them stepping in and taking this seriously and really wanting to make it right by Jonah was really just something that we were so grateful for because we were really powerless in this situation to help and we couldn't find it online anywhere, and just to try to encourage him and console him. It was just a hard time," Jonah's mom, Kelly Spaschak said.
Nine-year-old Jonah Spaschak said, "They showed me some pictures of the giraffe doing stuff around the police station. I got quite a laugh out of that and then they brought me out to the car, and strapped in was this new giraffe."
The story gets better!
Captain Loubert and Officer Massey, who began the search effort, bought Jonah a police Build-a-Bear to protect his new blanket and stuffed animal from getting lost again.
"I just said thank you a lot and said how much this means to me," Jonah explained with a smile.
Officer Massey said he wants Jonah to take away this message:
"If you're having the worst day maybe in your life then you have to call the police and in this situation, turned from a horrible situation for a 9-year-old into a positive situation. Hopefully, they'll remember that," NFTA Transit Police Aviation Division patrolman, Officer Massey said.
In conclusion, Captain Loubert said the suspect was later arrested and charged with petty larceny and possession of stolen property.
The investigation is closed but the court process is currently ongoing, which is why 7 News was not able to get footage of the act.
