Amid police and paparazzi, a 9-year-old West Chester boy returned Wednesday night from a memorable odyssey that began with a geographic miscue.
Alex Collins turned quite a few heads at the Philadelphia International Airport, where a welcoming entourage awaited when he exited the plane. Chester County Sheriff Carolyn “Bunny” Welsh and three Philadelphia Police officers escorted him to his mother, who was already surrounded by cameras.
Leslie Collins said she was eager to give her son a hug - even if it embarrassed him – and grateful that a mistake she made had morphed into a magical excursion beyond her imagining.
She said when she learned about a contest on Facebook offering a day of hunting and fishing with the Chester County Sheriff, it seemed perfect for Alex. She explained that as a single mother with chronic health problems, she was unable to provide that kind of outing.
So she, Alex, and Alex’s fourth-grade teacher at Fern Hill Elementary, Jason A. Thompson, all wrote impassioned letters to Sheriff Underwood detailing the reasons that Alex deserved to win. But when Collins and her son hand-delivered them to the Sheriff’s Office in West Chester, they were initially met with perplexed stares.
Welsh subsequently solved the mystery. She had mentored Alex Underwood, a first-term sheriff from Chester County, South Carolina, at the National Sheriffs’ Institute in Colorado in September. He was running the competition, and when Welsh called him and explained the situation, he offered to spend a day with “Little Alex” if Welsh could get him there.
By then, Welsh said her staff was determined to reverse the boy’s obvious disappointment and offered to donate air miles to the cause. “Let’s make this happen,” Welsh said.
Welsh then contacted Collins, who was thrilled but concerned that her son, who had expressed a fear of flying, might not want to make the trip. “I told him that if he agreed to go, he wasn’t going to be able to back out,” she said, adding that her worries proved unfounded.
Alex was so excited that he immediately put a photo of himself and Welsh on her cellphone, Collins said. The night before he left, he barely slept. Then with no hesitation, Alex, nicknamed “Little A” by the sheriffs, boarded the plane early Monday morning and ended up spending nearly three days with “Big A” and his wife, Angel Underwood, a magistrate judge.
Collins said she only heard from her son a couple of times while he was gone. During one conversation, he rapturously described the room in which he was staying – a trophy paradise that included stuffed deer, turkey, alligator and boar. In another, he confessed that he wanted to stay there indefinitely.
Welsh got insight into the reasons why from the periodic updates, videos, and news stories she received from Underwood. “Little A was a celebrity down there,” she said, describing the red-carpet treatment he received.
She said one of the first things Underwood did was take his guest shopping for hunting and fishing attire. At the cash register, the boy was astounded when the total exceeded $200. “You spent all that on me?” Welsh said he asked incredulously.
Alex departed with one carry-on and returned with an extra two green duffle bags. He proudly clutched two of his most prized acquisitions – a fishing pole and a mounted set of antlers. He explained that they shot at one deer from a distance and couldn’t find it, but a friend of Underwood’s gamely offered a substitute souvenir.
He was also enthused about a new pair of shoes – Nike LeBron James. Asked by Welsh why they were so special, he said, “Because they’re LeBrons.”
At the airport, bystanders stopped to inquire about the flashing cameras and police presence. “Is this the boy who went to South Carolina?” asked Neal Randall, who had just flown into Philadelphia from Dallas. Randall said he had read about Alex on the Internet in Texas. “It was my favorite holiday story,” he said.
Welsh called Underwood to let him know that Alex had arrived home safely and handed the phone to Alex. “I miss you already,” Underwood said. “Come back and see me soon, OK?”
Calling her son’s experience “the best mistake I ever made,” Collins said she expected it would take several days for him to come down from his euphoria.
But then USAir delivered a swift reality check. After watching the empty baggage carousel circle for about 15 minutes without producing Alex’s third bag, police officers shook their heads and sent Collins off to fill out a claim form.
Philadelphia Police Lt. Michael Petrucci stepped in to reassure Alex. “They’ll find it and deliver it to you,” he said.
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