South Bend Police Department Reunites Retired Lieutenant and Former Baby Jesus Rescue

Retired police lieutenant Gene Eyster was left speechless when a current officer from the South Bend Police Department in Indiana informed him of his new rookie’s identity. “He said, ‘Well, you’re not going to believe this.’ I said ‘What?’ He says, “He’s sitting next to me,”” Eyster told Fox News program “Fox & Friends Weekend.” The officer went on to reveal that the new recruit was in fact a baby who had been rescued by the department over 24 years ago. Matthew Hegdus-Stewart received medical care and then became available for adoption following his rescue, which took place just days before Christmas when he was named “Baby Jesus” due to being found around that time of year. Eyster explained that they didn’t want to call him John Doe as a result of finding him in such unique circumstances. Now an adult and serving the same department where he once received life-saving care, Hegdus-Stewart expressed his gratitude for meeting Eyster again after all these years: “It was a blessing,” he said. “I mean, I wondered my whole life, ‘Hey, who found me? What happened?’ And more or less, it’s a kind of closure for Gene.” Taylor Penley is an associate editor with Fox News.