YORK COUNTY, S.C. — To the world he’s known as Detective Mike Doty but to Shane Downling, he was much more.
“I called him dad,” Shane said.
16-year-old Shane was raised by Detective Doty since he was two months old, when Doty’s Aunt, Diana, adopted Shane.
The two instantly connected.
“He made that call at age 23 saying, 'I’ll be his dad,'” Diana said. “You know how powerful that was?”
Doty went to great lengths to be the best father he could be.
“He was genuine,” Shane said. "You ever needed something it, it didn’t matter how far away you were.”
Even if that was 1,400 miles away.
For several years, Doty flew back and forth to Colorado to take care of Shane, not missing a birthday or special moment.
“He and his dad would do Disney world, go skiing together, they did everything together," Diana said.
Doty eventually convinced his aunt and Shane to move closer. They all lived in Fort Mill together at this home up until a death a year ago.
That painful night still lingers in their minds.
“I had gone to bed, and in the middle of the night he got called out,” Diana said.
“I actually saw him right before he left for work but I didn’t get up to tell him I love him or anything,” said Shane. “I thought, 'It’ll be another day.'”
Detective Doty never made it back home. He was shot in an ambush attack while responding to a domestic violence call.
“She woke me up and said dad’s in the hospital we have to go,” Shane said. “We saw him lying there in the bed, it was hard.”
Doty died moments later.
His killer is now serving a life sentence while Shane is left figuring out life without his dad.
“It’s hard,” Shane said. “I miss his jokes, miss being able to talk to him.”
But there are memories Doty left behind for Shane that continues to warm his heart. Likewise, he has a blanket that Doty always slept with.
“I sleep with it now," Shane said, "It makes me feel close to him.”