Reunited
A retired officer reconnects with the infant he rescued, now also in "the force"
‘We have a found baby in a box'
That was the raid call received by Gene Eyster, then, now retired, a police sergeant in the Major Crimes unit for the South Bend Police Department, more than 20 years ago.
That was until just a few weeks ago, when Eyster got another very memorable call, this time from officer Josh Morgan asking if Eyster remembered the case.
“Gene,” Morgan replied “You aren’t going to believe this.”
“He’s sitting next to me right now,” Morgan exclaimed. “He’s my rookie!”
The rookie in question is Matthew Hegedus-Stewart. He always knew about the strange circumstances that defined his very early days but only drew the line to Eyster after becoming a policeman.
That fateful call years ago led Eyster and some other officers to the Park Jefferson Apartments, where they soon found an abandoned cardboard box sitting in the hallway.
A nearby tenant had heard a baby’s cry and soon opened the box to find a wrapped-up newborn lying inside. Soon after this, the police were called, and soon after that, Eyster was on the case:
How did the baby get there?
Was there foul play?
Who, if anyway, was looking for him?
Eyster quickly enlisted the help of local media outlets to spread the word about this discovery. Through the investigation, the mother was found and arraigned, and the baby adopted by a new family.
Over the next two-odd decades, Eyster could only wonder what became of the baby boy. Indiana law stipulated that adoption records are sealed for such cases.
But that wondering ended recently:
It’s a true "Full circle moment," as Hegedus-Stewart said.
To add a little more magic to this wonderful story, this reunion (and new friendship, we hope) came about just a few months after the unexpected death of Eyster's only son, Nick, at the age of 36.
"So the timing couldn't have been any better, it helped to fill a void that I've had to deal with," Eyster said.
Good things, whether by duty or chance, are being done.
More details on how this reunion happened after the break:
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