Sparta police puts out heartfelt ‘thank you’ for those who helped find missing person

She was found splashing water on her face in a neighbor’s kiddie pool, having, what Sparta police called, “the time of her life.” 

Jasmine Cruz was reported missing Sunday afternoon. The 20-year-old, who is developmentally challenged, was found about an hour later when a neighbor went to the backyard to check on her tomatoes and found Cruz playing. After the outpouring of support to help find Cruz, the Sparta Police Department put out a heartfelt thank you on its Facebook page:

We’ve been getting a lot of “Thanks for your hard work Sparta PD!” and similar comments regarding our missing person post from earlier. While the comments are nice, we feel there are more important people in this situation that should be thanked.

While the comments are nice, we feel there are more important people in this situation that should be thanked.

First of all, thank you to everyone who shared our post, or posted in other Sparta-area Facebook groups to get the word and Jasmine’s photo out there. Social media is truly a powerful tool that helps spread information quickly!

Thank you to all of Jasmine’s family members, friends, and other people in the community who were diligently helping patrol most of the city looking for her. People can say what they want about Sparta, but when it comes down to it we truly have a great community. People who had no attachment to the situation went out of their way on their Sunday afternoon to help a family they had probably never met. It’s wonderful to know that a family going through probably the longest hour or so of their life had so many people willing to help help them out.

And most importantly, thank you to the kind woman who just happened to be checking her tomatoes and located Jasmine in her backyard. Jasmine found a kiddie pool, and was splashing around having the time of her life. The woman called to let us know she found Jasmine, and was even kind enough to give the family some towels for Jasmine’s ride home.

This heartwarming photo has been circulating social media this evening, so we wanted to share it as well. We’re honored that we were able to play a small role in helping Jasmine get home safe to her family – but we’re even more honored to be part of a such a great community that came together to help a family in need.