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ALPINE — Of all the items packed and shipped every day at the Pleasant Grove UPS store, there isn’t a package quite like the one Utah Highway Patrol trooper Jared Clanton brought in Friday afternoon.
Not because of what it was, but because of how he got it, and why he was so happy to get rid of it.
“It’s kind of important for somebody, you know? Somebody is crying,” said Clanton.
The story of the item begins at the mouth of American Fork Canyon on Christmas Eve, while Clanton was on his normal patrol.
"It was around 11:30 or so at night, and I caught something out of the corner of my eye on the side of the road, and I was like, that was out of place,” said Clanton.
He turned around to go and see what it was.
As he got out of his car to check on it, Clanton realized it was a wrapped Christmas present without any names on the box.
He took the item and unwrapped it so he could file a case on it, hoping the owner would call about it.
"I didn't have a lot to go off of other than the sticker for the store that sold it out of Minnesota. I looked up the store, and there were seven of that store in Minnesota," said Clanton.
The toy was a Lego robot, and that’s when it hit him, because he has a Lego toy that's precious to him.
"This little Superman my son gave me. He wanted me to put it on my keys,” said Clanton while showing the Lego Superman attached to his police keychain.
Clanton decided to do whatever he could to find the owner of the Lego, knowing it most likely was a Christmas gift for a child.
It made it worth it, and that's really... that's what it's all about, right? He didn't get it for Christmas, but he'll get it on his birthday.
–Jared Clanton, UHP Trooper
He posted it on the Utah Highway Patrol Facebook page, got in touch with the stores in Minnesota to pass the word, and talked to whoever he could about the item.
Friday, nearly two weeks after he found the present, Claton's cell phone rang.
"When I saw Minnesota on my caller ID, I was like, 'Oh my goodness,' ” said Clanton with a laugh.
It seems the mother of the boy that Lego toy was going to went back to the store to buy another one.
The woman, Amy Fish, mentioned to the cashier how she lost the same toy while traveling to relatives in Utah for Christmas.
The cashier remembered the Utah trooper who called about that toy and showed Fish.
She couldn’t believe it.
"I was just so grateful for Jared Clanton and his determination to make sure a child didn't go without a Christmas gift. That was just so overwhelming to me,” said Fish during a phone interview. “His heart is so big.”
The icing on the cake? Tomorrow is her son’s 11th birthday, so Clanton decided to ship the gift overnight — out of his own pocket — so it could get there in time for the boy's big day.
"It made it worth it, and that's really... that's what it's all about, right? He didn’t get it for Christmas, but he’ll get it on his birthday,” said Clanton.
For an 11-year-old boy in Minnesota, it’s going to be an extra special day, all thanks to his personal Superman.
