Daugher of first APD Lake Patrol Officer gets surprise

The daughter of the first Austin Lake Patrol officer got a touching surprise on what would have been her dad's 100th birthday.

She doesn't remember him because he died when she was a toddler. APD officers found a way to give some of those memories back.

With the wind blowing through her hair and her husband by her side, Mickey Robertson got a tour of Lake Austin courtesy of APD.

"Oh this is great. Nice little breeze," said Robertson.

In 1940, her dad, Officer Frank Foust, traveled these waters as the city's first lake patrol officer.

"I never thought I'd be on a boat on this lake again in my life," she said.

The ride is so very precious to her, as she never got the chance to get to know her dad or what he did as a lake patrol officer. He died in a horse-riding accident when Robertson was two.

This is what she knows of why the job was created, "There were some burglaries starting and things. This was back in the late 30s. They wanted a police presence out here for themselves."

Sgt. Glen Kreger found out about her story a couple months ago. He went to her home to talk with her. She gave him several photos. Kreger couldn't let things end there.

"He's patrolling the same waters we're out here on every day. He was here 75 years ago. Here we are still going strong," Kreger said.

He restored one of the photos and had it framed. He then found Foust's employee identification card.

On Thursday, what would've been Foust's 100th birthday, he presented both to Robertson.

"A lot of the pictures that I see of my dad were posed. And this picture he's doing something in real life and seems real to me... I was only 2 years old when he died so this means a lot. Thank you," said Robertson.

"On the back is your dad's APD records," said Kreger. "Hopefully, your babies and your grandbabies can enjoy it."

Officers gave her one more surprise, they took her to the exact spot where the photo was taken.

"It's special. I hope 75 years from now somebody does that for my kids and grandchildren. I'll be long gone hopefully they'll do something for them," said Kreger.