How Sanger police officers helped an Italian woman get home

Sanger is a long way from Italy, but it was just the right place to go for two Italian tourists in need of help.

Late Friday, Sanger police said two women from Torino, in northern Italy, stopped by their headquarters asking for help. One of them, police officer Francesca Verna, had lost her passport and other important documents she would need to board a plane back to Italy.

Verna and her friend had visited the Bay Area and Sequoia National Park before they realized the passport was missing, police said. So Sanger officers jumped into action and took down a lost property report before they connected the women with the Italian Consulate in Fresno. There, Verna got a duplicate copy of the documents she needed to get on a plane and return home, police said.

And soon after they had helped her, a Sanger resident reported finding Verna’s Italian Officers Identification card. Sanger officers contacted Verna to give her the good news. Other valuables that belonged to her were also found along with the ID card.

Sanger police said the women told officers they wouldn’t forget about Sanger anytime soon for the help they got. They still planned on touring the U.S. before returning home.

Sanger police posted a photo on Facebook Friday night with the two smiling women. It was not immediately clear which woman is Verna.

But as they say in Italy, grazie!

This story was originally published September 1, 2017 at 9:19 PM with the headline "How Sanger police officers helped an Italian woman get home."