Touching moment former Indiana cop who rescued newborn baby abandoned in a hallway days before Christmas meets him 24 years later
A retired cop is reunited with the abandoned baby he saved decades ago as a young lieutenant – the child is now an adult and wearing a familiar uniform.
The candid photo was held late last month at the South Bend Police Department in Indiana and featured long-retired officer Gene Eyster, who handled the case 24 years ago.
The other principle was none other than SBP officer Matthew Hegedus-Stewart, the same “Baby Boy Doe” who found Eyster in a coffin in December 2000 in the city just south of Notre Dame.
Discovered just days before Christmas, Hegedus-Stewart, thanks to Eyster, grew up in South Bend, eventually becoming an officer with the same power that saved him.
The star-crossed couple had been separated until now, providing Eyster with some much-needed closure after decades of wondering about the child’s fate. Video of the emotional meeting shows how it went a few weeks ago.
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The candid photo was held late last month at the South Bend Police Department in Indiana and featured long-retired officer Gene Eyster, who handled the case 24 years ago. The other principle was none other than SBP officer Matthew Hegedus-Stewart
The adult officer, the same ‘Baby Boy Doe’, found in a casket in South Bend in December 2000, abandoned before being placed in foster care
“That was one of the strangest calls I think I’ve ever had,” Eyster, a 47-year-old veteran of the force, said. CBS Newsas he relived the December day when he and Officer Hegedus-Stewart’s fates became forever intertwined
“We have a found baby in a box,” he continued, recalling the words of a dispatcher who sent him and other officers to a local apartment complex where a newborn Hegedus-Stewart was found by a man in a common area.
“You always wonder: What happened?” he asked aloud, remembering how he had christened the baby “Baby Jesus” instead of the cruder name the local newspapers had come up with.
‘Baby Doe’ sounded so cruel,” Eyster said. “So… I started calling him ‘Baby Jesus’ because it was so close to Christmas.”
At the time, Eyster, charged with tracing the toddler’s lineage, said The South Bend Grandstand‘Initial investigation showed that it may have been a home delivery.’
“I want to find the mother and make sure she’s okay,” continued the then-lieutenant – who broke down in tears during last month’s emotional media event.
“After that, we’ll let the chips fall where they may,” he told the paper. ‘The priority is to care for the child, then for the mother and lastly if there is criminal intent.’
A search for answers about the boy’s origins ensued, with a dutiful Eyster going out and buying a teddy bear to keep the child company.
The pair met at the police station on March 22, months after Eyster – who recently lost a son – retired
An emotional reunion followed, with the couple updating each other on the lives they have led over the decades.
“We have a found baby in a box,” he continued, recalling the words of a dispatcher who sent him and other officers to a local apartment complex where a newborn Hegedus-Stewart was found by a man in a common area.
“You always wonder: What happened?” he asked aloud, remembering how he had baptized the infant “Baby Jesus” instead of the cruder name the local newspapers had come up with.
After a medical examination, the boy was handed over to Child Protective Services, where he was placed in a kind of foster home.
However, due to local laws, the child’s exact fate was kept secret, leaving Eyster in the dark even after he retired last year.
That changed in mid-March when the agent received a call from a former colleague.
To everyone’s surprise, his ex-colleague gave an update on the fate of the child he had shown an interest in so many years ago.
“He’s sitting next to me now,” Officer Joshua Morgan joked as he chatted with a recent Hegedus-Stewart graduate.
“He’s my rookie!”
Then came March 22, 2024 — the day Eyster finally came of age and met “Baby Jesus.”
Having recently lost his only son, he was greeted by a young man wearing the same uniform he wore for nearly fifty years – a monumental event felt by both sides.
‘Baby Doe’ sounded so cruel,” Eyster said. “So… I started calling him ‘Baby Jesus’ because it was so close to Christmas.” Here is a fragment of the discovery of December 23, 2000
The two continued to catch up as they searched through preserved documents related to the fateful case
Several of the documents – which have been kept secret since the incident – had never before been seen by Hegedus-Stewart and offered new insight into the man who saved him.
In an interview with CBS, Hegdeus-Stewart said his information was also limited and that he ended up in the same orbit as his rescuer largely by accident.
Eyster appeared visibly emotional during the meeting, which was filmed and shared on the department’s Facebook page
“Thank you for everything you’ve done for me,” Officer Hegedus-Stewart said to Eyster as he shook his hand
In an interview with CBS, Hegdeus-Stewart said his information was also limited, and that he ended up in the same orbit as his rescuer largely by accident.
When asked if the little information he had about his rescue prompted him to apply for a police position, he said no, but added that it could have been something more complex.
“I think subconsciously, yes,” he said, tearing up. “That’s probably why I ended up where I am today.”
Meanwhile, as the two met in the hallways of the South Bend Police Department, a smiling Eyster couldn’t help but make a joke.
“You’re a little bigger now.”
The two continued to catch up as they searched through preserved documents related to the fateful case.
“Thank you for everything you’ve done for me,” Officer Hegedus-Stewart said to Eyster, shaking his hand gratefully.