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Saratoga County resident Connor Hayhurst, age 15, of Ballston Spa, donned his very own Schenectady Police uniform on Tuesday, Aug. 30, before helping investigators track down the culprit in a mock theft case.
Hayhurst, who is on the autism spectrum, was born with a rare heart condition and has no active immune system, according to The Daily Gazette of Schenectady.
The teen has undergone three open heart surgeries and must have weekly transfusions for the rest of his life.
On Tuesday, though, one day before his 15th birthday, Hayhurst was all smiles as he got to work solving the case of a “famous picture” that had been “stolen” from Union College’s Nott Memorial.
“Connor arrived just in time to help us investigate, responding to the scene, processing the clues, and finding the "thief" just as he was about to sell the piece of precious art,” Schenectady Police wrote on Facebook.
“We recovered the painting and celebrated Connor's great work with a barbecue back at the station.”
After lunch, it was off to the New York State Police Aviation Unit in Albany, where Hayhurst and his family toured the facility, checked out its planes and helicopters, and met with pilots and staff.
“Then, it was off to the sky, as Connor and family flew with the New York State Police aviation crew, painting onboard,” police said.
The department posted a video showing the “perfect landing” as the helicopter touched down at Union College next to the Nott Memorial, where Hayhurst presented the “stolen” artwork to college President David Harris.
A proclamation from Schenectady Mayor Gary McCarthy ended the day, naming Aug. 30, 2022 as “Connor Hayhurst Day."
Hayhurst said “evidence and good police work” helped him and his partner, Sergeant Jeffrey McCutcheon, solve the burglary.
“Good work, Connor,” Make-A-Wish Northeast New York wrote on Facebook. “And thank you to all who made this such a special wish.”
Breanna Hayhurst, Connor’s mom, told The Daily Gazette she couldn’t put into words how incredible it was to see the wish come true.
“This day means the world to me to see my son get his wish to be a police officer,” she told the outlet.
The local chapter of Make-A-Wish, which grants wishes for kids with critical illnesses, was started by businessman Ted O’Hara in 1987, according to its website. Since then, it has granted more than 2,000 wishes.
The first wish granted by Make-A-Wish Northeast New York was for a girl from Amsterdam, whose wish was to visit Costa Rica to meet her grandparents for the first time.
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