Horry County police officer’s act of kindness makes 8-year-old boy’s day

After having no luck finding an 8-year-old boy’s stolen bicycle, one Horry County police officer went above and beyond the call of duty and surprised him last week by showing up at his house with a new one.

Aiden Boswell’s bike was stolen July 17 from the Watsons Riverside community in Socastee, according to his mother, Tiffany Crawford.

Officer Kevin Cast of the Horry County Police Department responded to that call with hopes of retrieving it.

“Immediately after I took the initial report, I went home and told my wife, ‘If I can’t find this kid’s bike within a week then I’m buying him a new one,’” Cast said.

After Cast wasn’t able to find the bike, he kept his word and showed up at Aiden’s house July 20 with a brand new one.

“Mr. Cast made him stand in front of the car and went to the back of the car, got the bike out, and my son’s eyes lit up like it was Christmas,” Tiffany said. “You can tell Mr. Cast takes pride in his job and truly hated seeing my baby upset.”

Aiden was very excited and surprised, Cast said.

“He immediately gave me a hug, thanked me several times, and then jumped right on it to ride,” he added. “It made me feel very good to be able to do this for him, so that he can go back to being a happy kid on his bike.”

Cast also gave Aiden a new lock for his bike, along with locks for his siblings’ bikes.

“Unfortunately, everyone is susceptible to becoming a victim of a crime, but it always tugs more at your heartstrings when those victims are innocent children,” Cast said. “I was not fortunate enough to find his bike and return it to him so in this particular instance I felt the need to replace it along with a lock, which also presented an opportunity for an important lesson on keeping your valuables locked up and safe.

Cast has been in law enforcement for around 13 years and has been with the Horry County Police Department since 2016.

This story was originally published July 25, 2017 at 9:17 AM with the headline "Horry County police officer’s act of kindness makes 8-year-old boy’s day."