Gene Eyster, a retired police lieutenant, is haunted by a particular apartment complex, as it triggers memories of a bizarre incident involving a baby 24 years back.
Eyster, a veteran of 47 years in law enforcement, reflected on the event to CBS News. “That was one of the strangest calls I think I’ve ever had: ‘We have a found baby in a box.’ You always wonder, what happened?” he said.
On December 22, 2000, a newborn was discovered abandoned in a common hallway. However, for Eyster, the saga of “Baby Boy Doe,” wrapped in cardboard and blankets, did not conclude once the child was taken to the hospital.
“Baby Doe’ sounded so cruel,” Eyster would add. “So… I started calling him ‘Baby Jesus’ – since it was so close to Christmas.”
“I went back [to the hospital] with a teddy bear,” Eyster shared, “Just a symbol to let everyone that walked past know that he was cared about.”
Eyster has remained curious about the fate of the child for more than two decades as records remain sealed, leaving him without closure.
The Daily Mail reports that as of recently, a remarkable story has unfolded; a narrative of serendipity and fate intersecting with the duties of law enforcement.
Eyster received an unexpected phone call from a colleague mid-March, prompting a memory from the past: the case of an abandoned infant left in a cardboard box.
Eyster recounted the conversation, saying “And he [the officer] said, ‘he’s [the baby] sitting next to me, he’s my rookie.’”
The rookie in question, as it turns out, was none other than Matthew Hegedus-Stewart, the very infant rescued from that cardboard box. Adopted after his rescue, “Baby Jesus” Hegedus-Stewart had always been aware of his origin story but only made the connection to Eyster upon joining the police force.
The two officers recently met in the halls of the South Bend Police Department.
“You’re a little bit bigger now,” a smiling Eyster joked.
They engaged in catchup as they pored over preserved documents related to the fateful case. “Thanks for all you did for me,” Officer Hegedus-Stewart said, gratefully shaking Eyster’s hand.
Now Hegedus-Stewart wears the same uniform as Eyster once did, patrolling the same neighborhood they both now call home.
“It’s a full circle moment,” reflected Hegedus-Stewart to CBS News. “That hit home. I can only imagine from his point of view.”
What might seem like mere happenstance to Hegedus-Stewart could carry a deeper significance for Eyster. Their reunion, blossoming into a newfound friendship, occurred just months after Eyster experienced the unexpected loss of his only son, Nick, at the age of 36.
“The timing couldn’t have been any better, it helped to fill a void that I’ve had to deal with,” Eyster acknowledged.
Eyster answered the call to aid a vulnerable child nearly a quarter of a century ago. Today, that child stands poised to reciprocate the care.
Whether attributed to chance or something more profound, the outcome undeniably showcases the power of exceptional police work.
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