Granite Shoals police officers make little girl feel somebunny special

Special to The Highlander

Thanks to the Granite Shoals Police Department, a local child missing her best friend — a stuffed rabbit named “Bunny” — has a new stuffed animal and new police officer friends.

On Jan. 21, Granite Shoals Police Capt. Chris Decker was contacted via the Granite Shoals Police Department Facebook page by Debra, the mother of Victoria, the little girl who had last seen Bunny in Robin Hood Park in Granite Shoals that day.

Decker notified on-duty officers of the information and relayed a picture of Bunny. Chief Gary Boshears was in the area and searched without success.

Decker placed a picture of Bunny on all of the Granite Shoals Police Department social media forums. In a matter of days the posts had reached more than 21,000 people with more than 367 shares and 160 reactions, just from Facebook.

However, as days went on, there was no sign of Bunny. This crushed Decker as he had a stuffed bunny that was once lost, but found, when he was Victoria’s age. To this day Decker still has his rabbit, also named Bunny.

The officers had to consider that Bunny was the Velveteen Rabbit and had become real. This would leave a hole in Victoria’s heart and reportedly make Decker cry at his desk. A solution had to be found.

Decker and the other officers noticed a collection of stuffed animals that the Granite Shoals Police Department keeps on hand for comforting children in traumatic situations. Decker located a pink stuffed rabbit and called Debra to see if Victoria might like this new bunny. Victoria’s mother agreed that the pink rabbit would be perfect.

On Feb. 3, Debra and Victoria returned to Granite Shoals to meet Decker and Sgt. John Ortis. Victoria was presented the pink bunny, which she was excited to receive and promptly named him “Bunny” as well. The smile on her face warmed the entire office.

Ortis then presented Victoria a department patch and department Challenge Coin to keep with her to remind her “the police are always here to help and we’ll never give up on searching for her original stuffed rabbit.”

While this investigation turned cold, diligent work of law enforcement to find solutions has resulted in a little girl having an experience she won’t soon forget and a reminder there is more to policing than what is shown in popular culture.

Managing Editor Lew K. Cohn contributed to this report. Find this story and more in The Highlander, the newspaper of record for the Highland Lakes. Send a news tip to lew@highlandernews.com.