Retiring FBI Agent Is Surprised By Man He Rescued As A Kidnapped Baby 22 Years Ago

In 1997, FBI Supervisory Special Agent Troy Sowers rescued a newborn baby named Stewart Rembert who was kidnapped from a hospital in Lakewood, Washington.

Almost 22 years later, Rembert, who is now a corporal in the Marine Corps, stationed in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, surprised Sowers with an emotional reunion at his retirement party.

Sowers was a rookie FBI agent when Rembert was kidnapped from the hospital by a woman impersonating a nurse, NBC News reports.

The police and FBI launched a massive manhunt, and 19 hours later Sowers found Rembert in a box next to a restaurant dumpster in Tacoma.

On August 9, Sowers was celebrating his retirement when his colleagues revealed they found Rembert and invited him to join the celebration. The two men had an emotional reunion, and Rembert expressed his gratitude to Sowers.

"It's crazy to think that without his efforts, I wouldn't even be here today," Rembert told NBC News. "I wouldn't be a Marine. My family wouldn't be the same … I'm just super excited and honored to meet this man today."

At the event, Sowers explained how he and other law enforcement officials had convinced Rembert's kidnapper to lead them to the infant — and revealed he worried the baby would not be alive when he was found.

"We knew he had been out there for several hours," Sowers said. "When I picked him up, he was not crying, but he just nuzzled right into my neck, and I knew he was fine."

Sowers told NBC News he had not seen Rembert since the baby was taken away by medical personnel, and that he had often wondered what happened to him. He also told The News Tribune, “This is what I came to the FBI for, to do good things like this.”

He called the reunion with Rembert "probably one of the best surprises I've ever had."

Read more: The News Tribune, NBC News