Tanner and Chase Brownlee came to the police auction with $3,000 to buy their late father’s squad car.
Their father, a Weld County, Colorado deputy, died in the line of duty five years ago. His squad car is one of the last physical links Tanner and Chase have to him.
The county decided to auction the car, which was retired this year, to raise money for charity.
Bidding quickly shot past the sum the two boys raised, and the car finally sold to a local rancher, Steve Wells, for $60,000.
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Wells didn’t keep the car for long. As soon as he took the keys, he turned to Tanner in the auction’s front row and handed them over to the young man, whom he’d never met before.
“Tanner, here’s your car,” Wells said, and the room erupted in applause.
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Photo by Weld County Sheriff’s Department – Story tip from Sara Nettles