Hero state trooper celebrated by his hometown after saving kidnapped kid

PERRYTON, Texas (KVII) — When you work in law enforcement, you get to see the good, and unfortunately, you get to see the bad and the ugly. On Friday at the campus of Perryton High School in Ochiltree County, a ceremony was held for Oklahoma Highway Patrolman Cody Creswell, as Friday was declared Cody Creswell Day for the City of Perryton.

“It’s a great honor, I love this town, I love Perryton, I love being from the Texas Panhandle,” said Cody Creswell, Perryton High School Class of 2000. ”A lot of people are like you’re from the Panhandle, but at the end of the day, this is home to me, it’s a great place to live.”

“He’s from here, his family is from here and I just felt it was appropriate to do a proclamation to have a day named after him,” said Kerry Symons, mayor of Perryton.

Cody Creswell with the Oklahoma Highway Patrol was honored and recognized for going above the call of duty in July of 2024, helping to reunite a young boy whom he believed was being trafficked and return him to family members in New York.

“If the tables were turned or you put the boots on another person, I would want that person to drive my child through the night and get him home to me,” said Creswell. “I have enough respect and honor that if you make a promise to a child that you keep it, and we made a promise to him, we would get him home to his dad and that’s what we did.”

Cody Creswell was joined by a couple of state troopers from OHP as they talked to Peryton High School students about risk and consequences and always remember what one does in life echoes into eternity. They talked about the importance of always making good decisions and saying no to drugs and alcohol. They also reiterated the importance of wearing a seatbelt while inside a vehicle.

After meeting with high school students, the trio of OHP members visited students at other schools in Perryton.