Wake Family Receives Christmas Cheer from Sheriff`s Department

The Christmas shopping season got a little bit easier for a Saline County family, but it`s bittersweet. Since August, that family had been tugging at the heartstrings of the Sheriff`s Department. August was when Brian Wake was found beaten to death near the Saline River. So this Christmas, Saline County Sheriff`s Deputies, Search and Rescue and Reserves adopted the family to make their Christmas a little brighter than it would`ve been. With help from Santa, they all arrived at the Wake residence Saturday afternoon to present Kristi Wake and her two children, Abby and Austin, with presents and food for holidays. Kristi Wake admits that she hadn`t even started her shopping yet, because it was too overwhelming. "I didn`t have that phone call just to call and say, do you think they`d like this, so I walked out," she said of her trip to Wal-Mart. Sheriff Phil Mask says he wanted her children to know that the Sheriff`s department doesn`t just come around when something bad has happened. "At least she knows even though the Sheriff`s department did their job, made an arrest, at least they know we`re human. We care about her above and beyond just doing our jobs," Mask said.