In a heartwarming twist of fate, a touching coincidence has occurred within the law enforcement community in Indiana, USA. A baby boy abandoned 23 years ago has now grown up to become a police officer. To his surprise, he recently discovered that the person who rescued him all those years ago was a retired police officer who had previously worked at the same police department. Their reunion at the police station was truly heartwarming.
The South Bend Police Department in Indiana shared this heartwarming story and photos on their Facebook page last month. According to the department, on December 22, 2000, residents of the Park Jefferson Apartments in northeast South Bend called in to report hearing a baby crying from a box in the hallway.
At the time, Detective Gene Eyster, who was in charge of the Major Crimes Unit, responded to the call. He and his colleagues located the box and found a newborn baby inside, wrapped in blankets and a flannel shirt.
The baby was taken to the hospital for care, while Eyster began the search for his parents. Due to the proximity to Christmas, Eyster gave him the nickname “Baby Jesus.” He even bought a teddy bear to visit him at the hospital.
With the help of local media spreading the word, Eyster quickly received tips leading him to the baby’s parents. After an investigation, the birth mother faced charges of child abandonment, and the baby was eventually adopted by another family.
Years passed by, and Eyster has since retired, ending his 47-year career in law enforcement. However, he often wondered about “Baby Jesus” over the years – whether he was safe and still in the local area.
Then, in March of this year, Eyster received a call from his former colleague and current police officer Josh Morgan. Morgan asked Eyster if he remembered the “Baby Jesus” from years ago.
Morgan exclaimed, “You won’t believe this! He’s sitting right next to me now. He’s my rookie!”
It turns out that the new police officer at the department, Matthew Hegedus-Stewart, had mentioned to his training officer Morgan that he was an abandoned baby who was later adopted. After checking the records, Morgan discovered that Eyster was the lead investigator in that case years ago.
On March 22nd of this year, Eyster and Hegedus-Stewart met at the South Bend Police Department. This was the first meeting between Eyster and Hegedus-Stewart since 23 years ago when Eyster had visited him at the hospital with a teddy bear.
Eyster jokingly remarked to Hegedus-Stewart, now a grown man, “You look a bit bigger now.”
They spent some time talking and carefully reviewed the case files, including photos taken of Hegedus-Stewart at the hospital when he was just two days old. These were photos that even he and his family had never seen before.
Hegedus-Stewart never imagined that the person who saved his life when he first entered this world was actually a senior officer in the same department as him.
Hegedus-Stewart shook Eyster’s hand and expressed, “Thank you for everything you did for me.”