Hero Who Rescued Abandoned Baby In Cemetery Surprises Her With Reunion 18 Years Later

by Guest Sat May 24, 2014 4:35 pm

One man's quick thinking saved a newborn baby girl 18 years ago, and led to a very sweet reunion.

In November 1995, Charlie Heflin rescued a newborn baby girl from a cemetery in Champaign, Ill., WFIE reported. Now that little girl is a teenager who's graduated high school, and she and Heflin have been reunited.

Heflin, who was a volunteer firefighter at the time, happened to be listening to the police scanner when a call came in that there was a baby abandoned under a pine tree at Mt. Hope Cemetery. However, police failed to find the baby there, so Heflin went to another local cemetery on a hunch, according to ABC News. He found the newborn infant just in time, as she wouldn't have lasted long in the subzero degree weather.

"I heard a little whimper when I got close to the tree," Heflin told WFIE. "I dug down inside this real huge pine tree and found her."

That newborn was adopted a week later by Bonnie and Greg James, and named Skyler. Bonnie James tried for years to contact her daughter's rescuer, and finally found him in time for a surprise reunion at Skyler's graduation party.

"I was totally shocked," Skyler James told the outlet. "It's something that I've dreamed of since I was a little kid, and it's amazing."

The two embraced and Heflin presented the teen with the jacket he wore the night he rescued her.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/23/man-rescues-newborn-reunion-_n_5374091.html?14598459&utm_hp_ref=good-news