A special letter written by Lieutenant Paul Barbour of the Edmond, Oklahoma Police Department helped ease the fears of two young girls. Aubrey Craig, 11, and her sister Ava, 9, were having many sleepless nights, anxious and fearful that something would happen to them. Aubrey told KFOR NewsChannel 4, “There are so many bad things out there and you never know what can happen to you.” The girls were so frightened that Aubrey slept with a golf club, and Ava kept a Louisville slugger at her bedside.

Kacie, the girls’ mother believes that her daughters’ fears stem from the violence they see on television. “Just scared. Just kind of scared about life in general.” the mom said. “We started a process where we would get her up before bedtime and go door to door and window to window to show she’s safe and everything is locked and we live in a safe town and community.” Despite that safety check, Ava would still end up at times, on her parent’s bedroom floor in tears.

According to KWTV News 9, Lt. Barbour found out about the Craig girls’ problem from his wife, who works with Kacie. Barbour told KFOR, “My heart went out to them and I needed to do something to make them feel safe.” So, during his graveyard shift earlier this week, the 29-year veteran of the force decided to pen a handwritten letter to the girls, reassuring them of their safety.

The note read:

“Hello Ava and Aubrey,

This is Lt. Paul Barbour from Edmond P.D. I work the night shift and patrol neighborhoods and look for criminal activity. We do this so people can sleep and [sic] night and not worry about their safety.

I was driving through your neighborhood and everything looked good! I wanted to drop you a note to let you know all is well!

Take Care,

Paul Barbour”





He left the letter taped to the family’s front door for the girls to discover in the morning. “It was nice to be able to write it down and tell somebody that I am out here watching and that we do care about you,” said Lt. Barbour.

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The officer’s act of kindness worked and the family says they are resting well now with the peace of mind that they are being protected. “I felt a lot more safe and secure knowing that someone is watching after us,” said Aubrey.

Lt. Paul Barbour said, “One of the things that probably bothers me the most is the, the fact that criminals could take the innocence of a child. And I don’t want that, for my kids or for anybody else’s children.”

Video and more info: KFOR, KWTV



