On a scorching summer day in Keene, New Hampshire, Officer Jason Short responded to a 911 call that no police officer ever wants to hear: someone had spotted a baby left alone in a car parked outside Walmart.
The stakes were high. The heat, the panic, the urgency—it was all there.
Jason raced to the scene, sirens wailing, heart pounding. When he arrived, he spotted the tiny figure wrapped in a blanket. Small feet poked out from under the fabric, completely still. With no time to waste, Jason smashed the car window and reached in to pull the baby to safety.
But the moment he cradled the infant in his arms, something didn’t feel right.
The baby wasn’t moving. The skin felt too firm. Too cold. Too… still.
That’s when Jason realized the truth.
It wasn’t a baby at all—it was an incredibly lifelike doll.
The doll belonged to a woman named Carolynne Seiffer, who returned from shopping to find her car window shattered and a small crowd gathered around her $2,000 collectible, which she lovingly named Ainsley. Needless to say, she was surprised—and more than a little embarrassed.
Carolynne explained that the doll was one of about 40 she owns to help her cope with the heartbreaking loss of her own child. For her, these dolls are part of a deeply personal healing journey.
“I’ve been laughed at and embarrassed by all the fuss,” she said. But she also understands the confusion.
Officer Jason, though a little red-faced, stood by his actions. “I’d do it again,” he said without hesitation. “If there’s any chance it’s a real baby, I’m breaking that window.”
In the end, the Keene Police Department even covered the $300 cost of the window repair.
Sure, it was an unusual situation—and one with an unexpected twist—but everyone walked away safe, and maybe with a new understanding of how people process grief in their own ways.
And next time someone spots a still figure in a parked car, maybe they’ll think twice—but no one’s blaming Officer Jason. In his book, better safe than sorry.
