AUBURN, Wash. — The identification card of Jesse Sarey, a 26-year-old former foster child killed by an Auburn police officer in 2019, was discovered inside a sealed bag of baseball cards at a thrift store in July.
The card was offered for sale at a St. Vincent de Paul thrift shop on the exact day of Sarey’s birthday, seven years after his death.
Sarey was shot and killed during a scuffle with Auburn police officer Jeffrey Nelson in 2019.
In June 2024, Nelson was convicted of murder, marking the first time in Washington state history an officer was convicted of murder for an on-duty shooting.
Following the shooting, Sarey’s foster mother, Elaine Simons, became an activist seeking justice for her foster son, who had struggled with mental health, addiction, and homelessness after aging out of the foster care system.
“I am relentlessly on a mission to do right by him!” Simons said. “We need accountability. And we need it now.”
A five-second TikTok video brought attention to the discovery after a user posted that the St. Vincent de Paul thrift shop in Auburn was selling Sarey’s ID for $3.49 inside a sealed bag of old baseball cards.
The thrift store is located four miles from where Sarey was killed.
Friends alerted Simons to the social media video, but the item was sold before her friend could purchase it.
Simons advocated for years following his death and recalled her shock at learning about the video.
“I’m like, ‘how the hell did Jesse’s ID end up in a bag full of baseball cards in a thrift store — seven years later,’” Simons said.
Simons viewed the timing of the discovery on Sarey’s birthday as meaningful.
“I said this is powerful. This is divine. It was like Jesse reaching out saying, ‘Hey, I’m still here,’ you know?”
Simons said that Cesar Rodriguez, a close friend of Sarey, bought the bag of cards at the thrift store after noticing the identification inside.
Rodriguez remembered hanging out with Sarey when they were younger.
“I got it because he was a buddy of mine,” Rodriguez said. “I used to hang out with him and his cousins and then he would ride along with me, spend the night at my house every now and then. We were all younger, obviously.”
After seeing comments on social media pointing out that it was Sarey’s birthday, Rodriguez arranged to return the identification card to Simons.
“I met up with the mom; that was the first time ever meeting her. Gave it back to her. She was happy,” Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez believed his late friend intended for the card to be found.
“He didn’t want people to forget, you know? Maybe he’s like, ‘hey, an old friend, don’t forget me.’ You know?” Rodriguez said.
How the identification card ended up inside a bag of merchandise at the thrift store remains unexplained.
Personal belongings from the trial were believed to still be held in evidence and workers at the thrift shop could not explain how the card arrived at the store.