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Kentucky State Police received a generous donation from the trustees of a fund which was originally donated as reward money for the arrest of the thieves responsible for robbing Dennis and Cindy Higdon’s Clarkson home on June 20 of this year.

Area residents were stunned and outraged when the Higdon’s home was ransacked while they attended the funeral of their 20-year-old son, Christian, who was brutally murdered in Elizabethtown.

In an effort to speed the apprehension of those involved in the theft, community members opened the fund and began donating reward money for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the perpetrators; an idea which originated with the Higdons’ neighbor, Russell Hackley.

“Since there were no credible tips by the public that led to the arrests, the Higdons decided to donate [the funds] to Trooper Island and/or Post 4’s Shop with a Trooper program,” said Master Trooper Norman Chaffins, who accepted the donation on behalf of KSP.

Kerry White, who served as one of the trustees for the fund, presented Chaffins with a check for $2,611 on Monday afternoon in front of St. Elizabeth Church in Clarkson, where the Higdon family attends services.

Trustees Ramond Hill and Charlie Stinson were also in attendance at the presentation.

Trooper Island is KSP’s summer camp program for area kids where, “for one week young people can be given a touch of hope and desire of a better tomorrow,” according to KSP’s website.

The annual Post 4 Shop with a Trooper program occurs each winter around Christmas time, and allows low-income children a chance to shop for holiday gifts with local state troopers.

“The money donated will benefit kids from right here in Grayson County,” Chaffins promised.

Kentucky State Police investigated the robbery of the Higdon’s home last month and quickly apprehended three Hardin County men who were in possession of items stolen from the Higdons and others, including a woman who was robbed while attending her husband’s funeral.

40-year-old Michael S. Acord was the first to be charged after he attempted to pawn the Higdons’ gun. The arrests of 40-year-old Timothy Terry and 42-year-old James G. Parret followed within days, as KSP investigators looked further into their connections with Acord.

In a press release from KSP, Dennis Higdon is quoted as saying, “When I was approached and asked what I wanted to do with the money, I said that I could not think of a more appropriate and deserving organization than the Kentucky State Police’s Trooper Island or their Shop with a Trooper program. IT was decided right away what we would do with the money. We are so very thank for what KSP did for us.”