ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — A new Go Fund Me campaign is looking to raise money to replace stolen funds that were meant to send a group of St. Augustine students on a field trip to SeaWorld.
Police arrested Steward Degraw after they say he broke into Victory Preparatory School and stole $5,000 in cash that was for the SeaWorld field trip, according to officials. Video surveillance and social media tips led to Degraw's arrest, investigators said.
Social media also led a concerned community member to create the Go Fund Me campaign. A woman named Inez Wilson created the fundraiser, saying she learned via the St. Augustine Police Department's Facebook page that the school her children attended over the summer was the victim of a burglary.
"The money was for the students to go on a field trip to Sea World, various tuitions and other events for the school," Wilson wrote in the fundraiser's description. "Thanks to the diligent work of our outstanding local law enforcement agencies (St. Augustine Police Department & St. Johns County Sheriff's Office), the individual responsible for this crime was apprehended; however, the money and the camera were not recovered."
The Go Fund Me campaign has a goal of raising $5,000 to replace the cash that was stolen.
"We are a community - and nothing says it better or stronger than coming together to help one another when things like this happen," the fundraiser description reads. "We can do this together!"
St. Johns County Sheriff's Office deputies arrested Degraw and took him to the St. Augustine Police Department. The cash, along with a stolen Ring camera, were not found, according to investigators.
If you would like to support the Go Fund Me campaign, click here.
