Federal Bureau of Investigation

Retiring FBI Agent Has Surprise Reunion With Kidnapped Baby He Rescued

"My parents wanted me to give you a hug"

It was a parent's worst nightmare. In 1997, newborn Stewart Rembert was abducted from the hospital by a woman impersonating a nurse. The police and FBI were called in and a massive search began.

But the story had a happy ending, NBC News reports. Rembert was found 19 hours later in a box next to a restaurant dumpster in Tacoma, Washington, by a rookie FBI agent in his first few months on the job.

On Friday morning, the FBI bid farewell to that agent, Troy Sowers, who is retiring after 22 years of service. But his colleagues had a surprise for him — they had tracked down Rembert, now a corporal in the Marine Corps, and invited him to the celebration in Tennessee.

At the farewell, Rembert entered the room to applause from the gathered FBI agents and staff and shook hands with the man who had lifted him out of a box 22 years earlier. They thanked each other for their service, and Rembert hugged Sowers.

"My parents wanted me to give you a hug," he told the shocked FBI agent.

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