A young student received the shock of a lifetime after agreeing to pick up her boyfriend’s lost wallet from a local police officer. Little did she know, her partner had devised a unique plan to pop the question.
Craig Vandenberg had been with his girlfriend, Emery, for several years and decided it was time to take things to the next stage. However, he wanted to ensure his girlfriend would never see the proposal coming, so he reached out to the Lakefield Police Department for help.
As a Florida Southern College student, Vandenberg approached Dagon Leach, the school resource officer, for help. Together, they came up with a masterful plan. Craig would give his wallet to Leach along with his girlfriend’s phone number, and the resource officer would call Emery, claiming to have her boyfriend’s missing wallet at the Police Department.
“Hey, is this Emery?” Leach said, shown in body camera footage shared on Facebook by the Lakeland Police Department on Dec. 23, “So I need your help. A police officer from downtown found Craig’s wallet, and you’re listed as an emergency contact for him.”
Leach continues with his acting by claiming to have first tried to contact Craig, explaining he couldn’t reach him. So, instead, he reached out to Emery, who’s listed as Craig’s primary contact. “This dude’s got me staying late; I’m ready to go home; it’s been a long day,” Leach said, hoping to convince Emery to come and pick it up.
During the call, Craig is seen standing next to Leach via bodycam footage. He’s wearing a suit jacket and holding a bouquet of yellow flowers.
Finally, Emery arrives at the meeting spot, which is not far from the school’s campus. Craig carefully positions himself in the back of Leach’s patrol car with his head down, hoping to hide from the sight of Emery. “She has no idea; it’s almost game time,” Leach says via body cam.
Leach spots Emery in the distance and pulls up the police car right beside her before he steps out to hand her Craig’s wallet. In the video, Emery is heard saying she was about to leave for the day before he called, so it was perfect timing.
Next, Emery is heard saying, “I’m an emergency contact?” To which Leach replied, “Yeah, so you must be important,” he responds. “Oh, one more thing, though.” Emery was soon shocked as Craig appeared from the police vehicle and began walking towards her.
The video shows Craig taking Emery by the hand before they walk down to a small lake that’s situated close to the school. He then gets down on one knee and asks the question. Emery is heard saying, “Oh my god, yes!”
“Craig and Emery, congratulations to you both!” the Lakeland Police Department wrote in the Facebook post. “Thank you for allowing us to help make this a true surprise.”
