Daughter pleads for necklace honoring fallen police officer father to be returned

INDIANAPOLIS — Kathy Mitchell has plenty of pictures of herself wearing a special necklace: a crucifix purchased by a friend to honor the memory of her late father.

“He was my hero,” she said.

Sgt. David Sandler was killed in the line of duty on June 4, 1986. The Indianapolis police officer had been on his way home when he died in a crash. The family was supposed to be heading out on a well-earned vacation.

But happiness turned to heartache on a day forever frozen in Kathy’s mind.

“Since I’ve been a little girl, my dad has been my everything,” she recollected while sitting in a home that could be mistaken for a shrine to the men and women in blue. “If daddy couldn’t fix it, it couldn’t get fixed. My dad was always there. He never let me down.”

Her special cross necklace was supposed to do the same. Bought by a close friend from JCPenney in 2021, the necklace came with a guaranteed lifetime warranty so that it too could always be there for Kathy. The memento was meant to carry the memory of her father for the rest of her life, always nestled near her heart.

But a faulty chain led to Kathy sending in the necklace for repairs time and time again. Twice in 2023, again in May of 2024, then a few months later in July 2024.

That would be the last time Kathy saw her necklace. JCPenney hasn’t returned the sentimental piece of jewelry since.

“I just want my necklace back,” Kathy pleaded to the company. “Just give me my necklace back and I will take it somewhere else to be repaired.”

Kathy has spent months working to resolve this issue. She’s filed complaints with the Indiana Attorney General’s Office and reached out to Call Rafael, all in pursuit of saving her necklace from becoming just a memory — like the man it represents.

“That necklace meant more to me than just a necklace,” she explained. “It was like a presentation of me having my dad around my neck. It was a special gift.”

FOX59 and CBS4’s Rafael Sánchez contacted JCPenney. The company claimed it is reaching out to Kathy to work on a resolution. Until then, Kathy waits and hopes the necklace finds its way back to her — no matter its condition.