HIGHLANDS RANCH - Terry Higgins got his son back for a while. But like most father-son reunions, it wasn't long enough. And in this case, it was terribly and tragically too brief.

Higgins' son, Austin, just couldn't shake a lethal addiction to drugs, even after treatment.

"It was only about two-and-a-half weeks that he was back," Higgins said. "He had changed back into himself during treatment. He was the Austin we had known for 17 years."

Higgins was desperate to get help for his son, who had finally approached him about a year after getting hooked. Austin told his dad he needed help.

So Higgins called around, but had no success.

"The first question they asked was what court had ordered him into counseling," Higgins said. "I felt Austin stood more of a chance of getting help if he had committed a crime."

Austin had approached his family on his own. He hadn't been caught doing anything illegal. But he knew he couldn't shake the addiction on his own.

Austin just wanted to fit in, he told his dad.

"Drugs just grabbed ahold of him," Higgins said.

Higgins said he asked him why drugs. Austin told him, "They're easy to get. They're everywhere."

Higgins finally located Lost and Found Inc., a treatment facility. Director Harl Hargett told Higgins he'd help, to bring his son in.

So Austin went into outpatient counseling. It wasn't working. So the family enrolled him in in-patient therapy. That helped, briefly.

Austin came home. On Sept. 8, 2001, he told his dad to wake him for church the next morning. When the time came, Higgins couldn't rouse his son.

"He died of an overdose," he said. "He had a relapse. He just didn't know it would be his last."

Austin was 17.

That could have been the end of this story. But Higgins told Lost and Found if he could help, to call. He was called.

"The gift that God gave me as a home builder is I'm good with tools," Higgins said.

"I can't do therapy. I can't talk to kids. The one thing I can do is build things for them. Every project that came up, I tried to get involved."

Then, he, his wife Melanie, and Lost and Found established the Austin Higgins Memorial Fund, which provides money to help defray expenses for families who can't afford treatment.

"I see a lot of the hurt in the kids, the same hurt I would see in the eyes of my son," Higgins said. "If I could help other families, maybe they wouldn't have to go through what I went through. God directed me."

Lost and Found volunteers and staffers will be on hand this weekend at the Wheat Ridge Carnation Festival.

At their booth, they'll hand out carnations to people making donations, which will go into the Austin Higgins Memorial Fund.

More about the group

To learn more about Lost and Found Inc., visit its Web site: lostandfoundinc.org.

massarog@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5271

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