Breaking into and entering a locked building doesn’t usually lead to a warm welcome by the police. Typically it warrants an arrest and jail time. But recently, one New York Police Department found themselves searching for an unidentified man who had broken a window and snuck into a school building.
And all because this time, they wanted to say ‘thank you’. Recently New York found itself in the middle of a massive blizzard. And the sudden increase in snow and falling temperatures, caused many residents to become stranded in the cold. Pine Hill School’s security alarm went off one evening but the Cheektowaga Police Department, near Buffalo, was unable to reach the school because of the snow-covered roads.
Photo by Cheektowaga Police
What they found when they arrived was nothing short of surprising. A note left behind, along with surveillance video, showed how one man helped save dozens from freezing to death. When Jay Withey’s truck ran low on gas, he became stranded. Withey began walking in hopes of making it somewhere safe. And he wasn’t alone.
As he walked, Withey found more people struggling to make it out of the elements. When he stumbled on Pine Hill School, he knew that they had to get inside, or they might not make it through the night. “My mission was just to keep going out and grabbing as many people as I can and to just keep going,” Withey told NBC News.
I just kept walking, and I walked until I cried and I couldn’t walk any further. I was just beat.”
Desperate, he broke one of the school’s windows and got himself and the rest of the people into the warmth. Withey told NBC News that he left open the school’s main door so if anyone else came along they would be able to seek shelter. Inside, they found the kitchen.
Grabbing only what they needed, along with blankets and water from the nurse’s office, the group of 24 people and a few dogs stayed inside the building for nearly 24 hours. When the blizzard started to clear up, they were able to find a snow blower and dig their way out to their cars.
Photo by Cheektowaga Police
When the Cheektowaga Police Department finally made it to the school, they found a note left behind by Withey, as well as the surveillance video showing the group inside.
The letter read in part:
To whomever it may concern, I’m terribly sorry about breaking the school window and breaking in the kitchen. Got stuck at 8pm Friday and slept in my truck with two strangers just trying not to die.”
The note went on to say that there were 7 elderly people with the group. “I had to do it to save everyone and get them shelter and food and a bathroom,” he wrote. Withey signed the letter, “Merry Christmas Jay”
The police department immediately posted pictures and the letter, asking for help in finding ‘Jay’. The department wanted to thank him for his heroic actions. Just hours after the post first appeared, police were able to find Withey and “express our gratitude,” they said. In response to all of the praise, all Withey had to say was, “I hope people realize it’s important to be kind and to do the right thing to help one another.”
Source: NBC News
