CALLAWAY COUNTY, Mo.— Santa’s sneaky helper got busted after trying to break into a mid-Missouri home earlier this week.

Two Callaway County Sheriff's deputies turned to a little girl to help identify the suspect and her parents posted it on social media. 

“You didn’t hear anything last night kiddo,” asked one deputy.

The girl appears hesitant at first, but her parents encourage her to go check out what is in the sheriff’s cruiser. 

When she approached the vehicle, the deputy asked, “Can you tell us who this is?”

“It’s my elf,” she replied. 

“She was trying to break into your house,” the deputy said.

A man on the video says, that is why she (the elf) wasn’t there today. Then explained the officers caught her. 

 “They understood the assignment!!”, a Facebook post stated, going on to thank the sheriff’s office and included the hashtag #BestElfReturn2024.