'Anything you want': Granddaughter of Elizabeth Pollard, troopers connect again for toy spree

Serenity Pollard had a big smile on her face when she dropped two Barbie dolls into her shopping cart.

She beamed when she grabbed toys featuring cartoon character Bluey off a shelf at the Hempfield Walmart Monday. The 5-year-old girl’s grin was contagious as she pedaled a bicycle around the store accompanied by state Trooper Steven Papuga.

“Anything you want,” he told the Unity girl as she filled up the cart.

Papuga and Trooper Trent Thomas were investigating a report of a missing Unity woman earlier this month when they stumbled upon Serenity, who was alone in her grandmother’s car outside Monday’s Union Restaurant. Those tense moments set off days of searching for Elizabeth Pollard, 64, around a sinkhole she fell into while looking for her missing cat behind the restaurant.

Her body was recovered Dec. 6, authorities said.

It’s been a tough couple of weeks for the Pollard family, and Sheliah Banks of Marguerite said the shopping extravaganza was a great distraction for her and her daughter. Serenity was paired with with Papuga and Sgt. Heather Clem-Johnston, who was site commander at the sinkhole.

“As a mother, it makes me very appreciative that she even has this opportunity, especially with everything she’s been through within the last two weeks,” Banks said.

Family members have said Pollard’s pride and joy was helping to raise her granddaughter after tragedy struck the family last January with the death of her 28-year-old son, Brandon.

Dozens of other children were paired up Monday with police officers from around the region at the store to go on shopping trips. Serenity had her list ready.

“She was excited to come pick out her toys, so I just wanted to make today all about her,” Banks said. “When I told her, she couldn’t even sleep, she was picking out in her head everything that she wanted.”

Papuga said the shopping trip was meaningful for him after the turmoil of that night and the days that followed. Pollard was last seen around 5 p.m. Dec. 2 outside the restaurant, and Serenity was found in the car about eight hours later.

“It means everything. It’s just a great opportunity that I can hopefully make her have a great holiday now,” Papuga said.

The search was emotional for first responders, as their initial efforts to find Pollard underground in an abandoned mine were unsuccessful, leading them to change tactics about 24 hours into the mission. The abandoned mine was unstable, making it unsafe for those trying to find her. Trooper Steve Limani, who organizes Shop With A Cop, said he believes the shopping trip was likely therapeutic for Papuga.

“It was a lot for all of the people working together … and all the emotions of the event that took place,” Limani said. “I can only imagine the difficulty the family is going through, especially since the holidays are right here.”

He coordinated last week with Banks, who expressed appreciation for the support Limani has provided the family through the ordeal and afterward.

“We’ve been taking kids shopping for 16 years. This is going to be the one I remember for the rest of my life,” he said. “It was awesome. She was so excited and filled with energy and so much fun. What a joy she was to be around.”