SAND SPRINGS, Okla. — Sand Springs parents hope they'll find their son's prized possession before they lay him to rest.
Teresa and Clark Boyd are burying their 18-year-old son, Matthew Smith, who they say never met a stranger.
“Rich, poor, didn’t matter,” said Clark Boyd. “He would reach out and make them feel like they were something.”
Smith died unexpectedly in a shooting incident last week. He recently graduated from Charles Page High School and his parents say playing football changed his life.
“He surprised us in 10th grade when he said he wanted to play football,” said Teresa Clark. “It was the best thing he ever did.”
He was a team player and motivator. His prized possession was his letter jacket; it was a symbol of pride for him. But that priceless jacket is missing.
“We’ve searched the house, the vehicles, everywhere,” said Teresa Clark. “We’ve exhausted every effort.”
They’ve called everyone they know. A Facebook post about it has gone viral, but still no sign of the jacket.
Timing is important because the family wants it back in time for the funeral.
“It’s a part of his life, it’s part of what he accomplished,” his mother said. “I just need it back.”
They want to drape it over the casket, which is Sandite black and gold. Those are also the colors they plan to paint and restore a truck they bought Matt.
Finding that jacket would restore some peace for the family. It means more to them than anyone else — other than the teenager so proud to wear it.
The family says they would welcome the jacket “no questions asked.”
Email the newsroom if you can help, or drop it off anonymously at Green Hill Funeral Home in Sapulpa, Charles Page High School, or Church That Matters.
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