An Elf on a Shelf can quickly become more than just a tradition for families [1] who participate. To some kiddos, the North Pole buddy [2] can turn into a beloved family member or BFF and for Lorraine Villahermosa, this was certainly the case when her 8-year-old son "adopted" Freddie.

Freddie has been visiting Jovani for the last five years, but the child's holiday cheer was almost ruined after a stranger stole Lorraine's purse [3] with Freddie tucked inside. "I was going crazy," the mom told Inside Edition. "I knew I had a few things in the purse, but the most important was that stinking elf."

Jovani was devastated when Freddie didn't show up on Dec. 1 and the problem wasn't as simple as buying a new elf. The family originally bought Freddie years ago and the company has since changed their design so secretly swapping in a Freddie look-alike wasn't an option.

Luckily, Lorraine's purse was quickly found, but unfortunately, Freddie couldn't be released as the crime was being investigated and he was evidence. Lorraine tried explaining the situation to the officers and when Sergeant Jonathan Perock heard how much the elf meant to Jovani, he came up with a creative solution for the desperate mom and her heartbroken child.

This thoughtful police officer snapped a variety of photos of Freddie at the police station for Lorraine to surprise Jovani with. This way, she could show the child that his pal wasn't able to stop by because he was on a special assignment helping the police find her missing purse.

From Freddie checking out potential bad guys to becoming an honorary investigator (complete with a badge and personalized business card!), Jonathan went out of his way to create a convincing explanation [4] for Freddie's disappearance. "A child shouldn't have to be exposed to something like a purse being stolen and have to handle that," Jonathon explained. "We wanted to handle it and do it quickly so the mom had an explanation to her child."

When Lorraine showed her son the photos the next day, his mom was thrilled to see that Jovani believed the entire story. Jonathan took things a step further by also providing updates as the days passed. "We've received another update from North Pole Mission Control: Freddie is knee deep in collaboration with the PWCPD. Looks like they may be closer to cracking the case of the stolen purse. The Men in Blue have the help of the best Elf Detective ever!" Lorraine shared on Facebook. "Freddie and Sergeant Jonathan Perok have teamed up and together they will not fail! With those two great minds on the case, we believe mom's purse will be back home very soon!"

This officer managed to turn a crime that could have ruined the magic of Christmas for one little boy into an exciting adventure both he and his mom won't soon forget. "Thank you to Sgt. Perok and Officer Midthun (Prince William County Police Department) for being so creative and making a little boy very happy," Lorraine wrote. "You could have been doing many other things, but you took out of your personal time for someone you didn't know and have created lifetime memories for him (and me!)."