In used book, woman finds UTR video of soldier reading to his daughter

October 19, 2015

Thanks to a perfect stranger, Sherrie Harper, who found a UTR video in her copy of “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” and decided to begin a search to find its intended owner. Thanks Sherrie, for helping this special story find its home!

SANDY, Ore. — Some kids in Sandy now have a piece of their childhood back thanks to a perfect stranger in Molalla.

“To Tiffy, from Dad,” Sherrie Harper reads aloud. She is holding a Harry Potter book with a DVD attached on the inside cover. Recorded on the DVD is a soldier reading the first part of the book to his kids.

Harper found it when she went to read the book, recently. “Whoever Tiffy is, I want it back to her.”

Sherrie Harper enlisted KATU to help find “Tiffy.”

“I would be devastated losing it. This is a treasure, something important. This is a father reading part of a story to his daughter,” Harper said.

Our only clue: the last name on his uniform: “Bodle.”

We found Tiffany, as her father calls her, “Tiffy,” in Sandy.

“Yes, I remember getting these. I can’t believe you have it. Wow, I can’t wait to watch this,” Tiffany exclaimed. As she loaded the DVD, KATU’s evening newscast came on. So she saw the story of Harper talking about finding her.

Tiffany’s dad is a soldier in Virginia, formerly in the Oregon National Guard. The kids do not get to see him often, but talk to him on the phone and through text messages. Tiffany says he was gone on multiple deployments for much of their childhood.

“My whole family — we would all listen to them together and watch them on our TV and stuff,” Tiffany explained.

On Monday, all the kids sat down once again to watch the face and listen to the voice they love, connecting any way they can to their dad.

“I just remember being younger and just watching these and feeling like I was actually talking to my dad.”

Tiffany said she was going to call her dad, and next she was going to call Sherrie to thank her for bringing a piece of her childhood back.

Originally posted on KATU.com. Also posted on Portland News.