Cold case solved by Cumberland Police: 'Yes, (Scarlett), there is a Santa Claus'

Ten-year-old Scarlett Doumato found Santa Claus, and he apparently moonlights as the police chief in Cumberland.

Scarlett drew attention nationally and internationally last month after she sent the Cumberland police a partly eaten cookie and the remains of a carrot she found at her home on Christmas morning.

"I took a sample of a cookie and carrots that I left for Santa and the reindeer on Christmas Eve and was wondering if you could take a sample of DNA and see if Santa is real," Scarlett wrote in a letter to the police.

Cumberland Police Chief Matthew Benson and his department tackled Scarlett's case with dogged determination. On Wednesday night, Benson held a press conference to announce the result of the investigation, and it was like Christmas morning all over again for Scarlett.

Here's their conclusion, in a small package: "Yes, (Scarlett), there is a Santa Claus."

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How the Cumberland police investigated Santa

After DNA results were inconclusive, Benson and his department weren't content to let the case rest. They contacted the North Pole, Alaska, Police Department for help with leads, retrieved a photograph of what appeared to be reindeer in a yard near Scarlett's home and interviewed a suspect in a red suit.

When the investigators offered the thirsty suspect a drink after "his long trip," Benson said he thought it was interesting that he requested milk. The determined investigators later lifted fingerprints from the glass but were unable to find a match. Not surprising, Benson said, since their database would include only those who'd had previous involvement with law enforcement.

Investigators also conducted some historical research, and that provided a big break. It led them to a similar question posed by another little girl, 8-year-old Virginia O'Hanlon, back in 1897. Virginia turned to a newspaper, The New York Sun, for answers, and while the newspaper didn't have the investigatory advantages of a modern police department, their "beautiful response has withstood the test of time and was further supported in this investigation," Benson said.

The famous response from newspaper editor Francis B. Church "eloquently" helps explain what the Cumberland police also found, Benson said, quoting from the letter.

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“Yes (Scarlett), there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. … How dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus! It would be as dreary as if there were no (Scarletts).

“Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. … Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are, unseen and unseeable, in the world.”

Making a PowerPoint presentation with Scarlett, her mother, Alyson, father, Matthew, and brother, Gianni, 13,  sitting in the front row, Benson noted how Scarlett's question generated interest, news stories and social media responses in every state, as well as in Canada, Argentina and England. The police chief told Scarlett, "You have achieved exactly what Santa Claus represents — you brought a smile to millions, and I do mean millions — with your small gesture of humanity, innocence and wonder."

To thank Scarlett, Benson walked from his podium and handed her a gift. But like Santa Claus retrieving presents from his sack of toys, Benson kept walking back and pulling more gifts from behind the podium. The gifts from Benson, the Cumberland Police Department, the Boston Police Department and others who'd heard Scarlett's story included a patch from the North Pole Police Department, a badge, a fingerprinting kit and a crime scene investigator's jacket.

Scarlett's mother, Alyson, said Thursday, "Scarlett was so excited to go home and try out all of her new equipment and promptly fingerprinted all of us!"

On Thursday, Benson said the department "saw a great opportunity to do something special and positive for a remarkable young lady" by investigating her case.

"The whole department rallied behind the case, particularly the command staff, who started coming up with all sorts of fun ways to celebrate Scarlett," he said. "When we saw how excited she was to know that we were actually looking into the matter, it just added fuel to our fire."

Scarlett may have been showered with presents, but the chief insisted that he and others who were moved by Scarlett's story had gotten the greatest gift.

"Because of you, for even a moment, they were transported back to a time, many years ago, when they were you. They were brought back to a time of innocence, a time of excitement, a time of hope," Benson said. "They were brought back to when they were their own Scarlett. And for many, being brought back to that wonderful time, with unforgettable memories, is more needed now than perhaps any other point in our history. For them, it was therapeutic, it was happy, it was true.

"To answer your question, Scarlett, yes, there is a Santa Claus, and that same spirit resides in you," Benson said. "I thank you for the joy you brought me, my staff, and this community. And for the millions across the world who believe in Santa Claus right along with you, they too say Thank You."

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Yes, Santa is real, Cumberland police confirm to RI girl