Lost and found
A baby left in a safe haven box in Ocala, Florida, was discovered by a firefighter — and then adopted by him.
Safe haven boxes are located in hospitals, police stations and fire stations. Parents in crisis who wish to safely surrender a newborn may place the child in the box and walk away, with no questions asked and no charges filed. Once the baby is in the box, an alarm is triggered. The newborn then receives medical care and child welfare is notified.
Last January, the Florida firefighter, who wishes to remain anonymous, heard the alarm at 2 a.m. and checked the box. Inside was a healthy baby girl wrapped in a pink blanket.
“She had a little bottle with her and she was just chilling,” he told the "Today" show. “I picked her up and held her. We locked eyes, and that was it. I’ve loved her ever since that moment.”
Although he and his wife had been trying to have a baby for more than a decade, he knew that this child was meant to be theirs…