Retired cop meets abandoned baby he helped 23 years ago: 'What are the odds?'

[mahatmakanejeeves]

INSPIRED LIFE
Retired cop meets abandoned baby he helped 23 years ago: ‘What are the odds?’

‘It was like something that was scripted for a movie,’ said Gene Eyster, now retired from the South Bend Police Department.

By Cathy Free
May 13, 2024 at 7:05 a.m. EDT

https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-apps/imrs.php?src=&w=767

Matthew Hegedus-Stewart, left, and Gene Eyster during their first meeting at the South Bend Police Department on March 22, 2024. Hegedus-Stewart is holding a picture of himself from Dec. 22, 2000, the day he was abandoned at two days old. (South Bend Police Department)

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More than two decades have passed since a crying newborn baby boy was found abandoned in a cardboard box at an apartment complex in South Bend, Ind. ... For retired South Bend Police Lt. Gene Eyster, the memories of that day are still vivid and emotional. He was a sergeant in the major crimes unit when he responded to the midnight call on Dec. 22, 2000. Other apartment residents had found the boy.

“It tore me up to see this baby left in a box, three days before Christmas,” said Eyster, now 70. After the infant was taken to the hospital by first responders, he said he went out to buy a teddy bear for the boy. ... “I took the teddy bear to the hospital and put it in his crib, so anyone who walked past him would know somebody cared,” Eyster said. “I called him ‘Baby Jesus’ because he’d been found wrapped in blankets in his own little manger, even if it was a cardboard box.”



A photo taken of Matthew Hegedus-Stewart on Dec. 22, 2000, the night he was found inside a cardboard box in South Bend, Ind. (South Bend Police Department )

The infant was adopted soon after, and Eyster said he always wondered how his life turned out, especially whenever he drove past the apartment building.

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Gene Eyster, left, told Matthew Hegedus-Stewart he’d grown a bit bigger since he last saw him in December 2000. (South Bend Police Department )

{snip}

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By Cathy Free
Cathy Free is a human interest reporter who specializes in stories of humanity. She has written for The Washington Post's Inspired Life section since 2018.

[50 Shades Of Blue]

1. Sniff....

[niyad]

2. Damn, it is dusty in here!

[jimfields33]

3. Absolutely a heartwarming story.

So glad both were able to reconnect and both seem to be just fine.