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Published on December 16, 2024
State Troopers Gift Joyous Shopping Spree to Granddaughter of Woman Lost to Sinkhole Tragedy in GreensburgSource: Google Street View

In what unfolded as part wistful remembrance and part heartwarming outreach, State Troopers took Serenity Pollard, the 5-year-old granddaughter of the late Elizabeth Pollard, on a special shopping spree in Greensburg. According to WPXI, Serenity joined the troopers for a 'Shop with a Cop' event yesterday, reacquainting with the very ones who found her safely tucked in her grandmother's car two weeks prior after a harrowing disappearance.

The backstory to this seemingly upbeat event has its roots in tragedy. Elizabeth Pollard, 64, lost her life falling through a sinkhole – a desperate search ending in the discovery of her body in an abandoned mine. It was here that Serenity was found unharmed, waiting for her grandmother inside the parked vehicle near Monday’s Union Restaurant. This ordeal lasted nearly 10 hours and concluded with a sobering rescue.

Despite these somber notes, the shopping excursion, detailed further in a TribLIVE report, came off as an opportunity to foster joy. Serenity's infectious smile as she grabbed her favorite toys – Barbie dolls and merchandise from the cartoon 'Bluey' – mirrored the intent behind State Trooper Steven Papuga's simple yet poignant offering: "Anything you want." He and Serenity pedaled bicycles around the Hempfield Walmart, seemingly determined to defy the shadows of the past weeks.

It wasn't just about diversion, though. For Sheliah Banks, Serenity's mother, the event represented heartfelt support during an unimaginably difficult time. "As a mother, it makes me very appreciative that she even has this opportunity, especially with everything she been through within the last two weeks," Banks expressed in a statement obtained by TribLIVE. Meanwhile, the shopping trip also had a therapeutic semblance for the participating troopers, who had weathered the emotional undertow of the initial search and recovery of Pollard's body.

Dozens of local children were lucky to join the outings facilitated by the annual Shop With A Cop event. Still, Serenity's case stood stark among the merry chaos – her list at the ready, enthused for a day about her. Trooper Steve Limani, the organizer behind these generous endeavors in Westmoreland County, summed up the sentiment well: "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, per TribLIVE report.