Tired of ads? Subscribers enjoy a distraction-free reading experience.
Click here to subscribe today or Login.

EXETER — As far as Calynn Hudock is concerned, all’s well that ends well after her four-year-old son’s motorized truck was recovered in a wooded area within 24 hours after it went missing.

Jasper Hudock was elated when he was reunited with his truck Wednesday afternoon at the Exeter Borough Building.

It has been a difficult year for him and his family.

Jasper, along with his father John Crossley, stepmother Julia Crossley and two-year-old stepsister Riley Ferrera were inside their Hanover Twp. apartment when a fire broke out last December. Jasper, who was hospitalized with burns to his body and throat, was the only survivor.

After the blaze, the Hanover Township Fire Department raised money to buy Jasper a miniature battery-operated Dodge truck, complete with the fire department’s logo on the hood.

It went missing as Hudock, her son and boyfriend, Matthew Ristagno, were in the process of completing a move.

Hudock is thankful for the quick response on social media after she posted about the truck.

“It was public when I shared it on Facebook and I shared it on other groups,” Hudock said. “It’s such a big story, the fire, and this (truck) came out of it, the one good thing that came out of it plus his health.”

“It was anonymous call to 9-1-1 and the Exeter Police went and got it,” Hudock said. “Once the truck was on the news with the fire department logo, it wouldn’t have been good to anyone.”

According to Exeter Police Patrolman Drew Malvizzi, the toy vehicle was located at about 10:30 p.m. Tuesday.

“We found it in the woods in Birchwood Estates kind of ditched,” Malvizzi said. “It was about a block, block and a half away from where it was taken.”

Malvizzi said Exeter Police received calls throughout the day on Wednesday from private donors and organizations willing to purchase a new truck for Jasper.

“Even Mayor (Joseph) Dominick in Wyoming had a couple of people that reached out to him and there are actually foundations that donate power wheels to hospitals where kids are and they had some Power Wheels to potentially give to Jasper if we didn’t find it.”

As for the truck, Hudock said it would have a new home with Jasper’s grandmother Grace Scarantino in Pittston, where there is a large field for Jasper to ride it.

Exeter Police Patrolman Tyler Atherholt drives Jasper Hudock’s motorized truck to a vehicle to deliver it to the Hudock home.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/web1_TTL091919Jasper3-4.jpg.optimal.jpgExeter Police Patrolman Tyler Atherholt drives Jasper Hudock’s motorized truck to a vehicle to deliver it to the Hudock home. Aimee Dilger | Times Leader

Jasper Hudock is seen in a motorized truck that was stolen earlier this week but returned Wednesday with help from Exeter Police. Hudock survived a fire in his Hanover Township home last December in which his father and stepmother perished. The Hanover Township Fire Department later bought the boy the motorized truck.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/web1_TTL091919Jasper1-4.jpg.optimal.jpgJasper Hudock is seen in a motorized truck that was stolen earlier this week but returned Wednesday with help from Exeter Police. Hudock survived a fire in his Hanover Township home last December in which his father and stepmother perished. The Hanover Township Fire Department later bought the boy the motorized truck. Aimee Dilger | Times Leader

Jasper Hudock reacts to the return of his motorized truck, which was stolen earlier this week during a family move. His mother Calynn and boyfriend Matt Ristagno look on as Exeter Police officers Drew Malvizzi and Christopher Vecchi present the vehicle on Wednesday.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/web1_TTL091919Jasper2-4.jpg.optimal.jpgJasper Hudock reacts to the return of his motorized truck, which was stolen earlier this week during a family move. His mother Calynn and boyfriend Matt Ristagno look on as Exeter Police officers Drew Malvizzi and Christopher Vecchi present the vehicle on Wednesday. Aimee Dilger | Times Leader

By Tony Callaio

For Times Leader