'We take every case serious:' State police to the rescue after boy's stuffed cheetah got lost on highway
WEST GREENWICH, R.I. -- Rhode Island State Police came to the rescue after a little boy's favorite stuffed animal got lost on a busy highway.
It all started when Corporal Lawens Fevrier got a letter from 4-year-old Will, from Brooklyn, New York. Will had a serious request. He lost his stuffed cheetah named Roger on I-94 in West Greenwich. He even included a picture of Roger.
Will's mom said Will had Roger hanging out a window as they drove to visit a relative in Rhode Island and Roger flew away. Will was so upset that his dad came up with a plan. They would write a letter to the Rhode Island State Police.
Corporal Fevrier and troopers at the Hope Valley Barracks opened Will's letter, and they were so touched, they came up with a plan. A few months later, Will received a new cheetah in the mail.
In his own letter, Corporal Fevrier wrote that they found another cheetah lost and alone on I-95, so they decided to take him in and spent months training him at the academy. Corporal Fevrier wrote he was finally ready to be with Will.
""The very first cheetah trooper in the history of the Rhode Island State Police We take every case serious -- whether it is a crime scene or a letter from Will," said Corporal Fevrier.
Corporal Fevrier said he's a father of two himself, and this was the least he could do to put a smile back on the little boy's face.
"We just wanted to find him one and make him feel happy," said Corporal Fevrier.
His mother was extremely touched, and said Will has named the cheetah Rhody, in honor of Rhode Island.
"The letter was never designed to be effective. I saw the return label on the box and I couldn't even believe it. Random acts of kindness are so sadly rare. It's so refreshing to have something like this happen that just reminds you that there are really good people out there and that if you look or just when you're not looking, there are always kind, wonderful humans just ready to do right by someone. A pure stranger," said Stephanie Ketcher, Will's mother.