An U.S. Marine who was kidnapped as a baby and abandoned next to a dumpster 22-years-ago finally got to meet and thank the FBI agent who saved him – on his final day at the federal agency before retirement.
Troy Sowers of Knoxville, Tennessee, had hoped for a ‘very simple’ final day with ‘coffee and doughnuts’ to end his decades of service but colleagues had a different plan in mind.
They tracked-down Stewart Rembert, now a U.S. Marine corporal, who Sowers had saved only a few months into the job in 1997 when he was still a rookie.
Rembert was abducted by a woman who impersonated a nurse to steal the newborn and later dumped in a box in an alleyway.
Sowers and law enforcement were able to convince the woman to tell them where he was hidden and upon finding him thankfully the boy was still alive.
Now 22-years-on Rembert was able to hug and shake the hand of the man who, as he says, he ‘wouldn’t even be here today’ without.
Former-FBI agent Troy Sowers (right) embraced Stewart Rembert (left) who he saved just a few months into the job around 22 years ago
Sowers (left) said he had always wondered what happened to the boy he found abandoned in a box. More than two decades on his final day of service, he finally found out that Rembert (right) had gone onto become an U.S. Marine corporal
Moments before meeting him as he waited outside a large auditorium, Rembert explained that he was ‘excited’ and could feel his ‘heart racing.’
‘I’m going to meet the man who saved my life, like it’s crazy to think that without his efforts I wouldn’t even be here,’ he told NBC.
As he entered, the room burst into a stand ovation for the FBI agent and Rembert beamed as he walked towards his savior.
‘My parents wanted me to give you a hug,’ he told a shocked Sowers before embracing him. ‘I wanted to thank you for giving me the opportunity of a life.’
Sowers described the reunion as ‘probably one of the best surprises I’ve ever had,’ adding that he had always wondered what happened to little Rembert.
After shaking Sowers’ (right) hand, Rembert (left) told the FBI agent that his parents wanted to give him a hug and the pair embraced
Recalling the case from Tacoma in Washington, he told the crowd that the child had been missing for 19 hours when they convinced the abductor to talk.
She had taken him from a hospital in Lakewood in 1997 causing panic among Rembert’s parents and medical staff.
But following on from a tip, Sowers had convinced the kidnapper to show them where she had left the boy.
By that point, several hours on from when she left him, Sowers explained that he feared the baby would be dead.
Sowers said: ‘I pulled a baby out of a box… That was tough, I had to take a couple deep breaths before I started talking.
‘I always remembered that night when I picked him up, he was not crying he just nuzzled right into my neck and I knew he was fine.’
A medical crew arrived to take him Rembert away for treatment but thankfully the boy survived.
At the time his father John Rembert told NBC: ‘He won’t be out of my sight for more than two minutes, make that two seconds.’
After the case had concluded, a senior agent pulled Sowers aside to congratulate him on such an impressive case.
Sowers recalls him saying, ‘Troy, I’ve got to tell you, something like that – you’ll never do anything better than that.’
Later Sowers would explain how proud he was of Rembert (left) for serving his country and others. He had always wondered what had happened to the newborn (right) he rescued two decades ago
Sowers (above) was surprised by the reunion, describing it as the ‘perfect bookend’ to his career. He later added that he was ‘totally surprised’ they pulled it all off without him knowing
Now he can retired and feel able to put his curiosities to rest, knowing that the boy he saved 22-years-ago went onto become a Marine.
‘I’m extremely proud of him,’ Sowers said. ‘I’m glad [to see] what you’ve done with your life. Pass it on.’
He later added: ‘I mean I’m proud of anybody who serves others above themselves.
‘The fact that he is willing to serve this country in the United States Marine Corps, I think, is just a perfect example of what we expect of everybody.’
Sowers who ends his career as an FBI agent in Knoxville described the reunion between him and Rembert as ‘the perfect bookend.’
He added: ‘To end, seeing him again, it really just puts the final touch to a career.
‘I’m completely surprised they pulled this off, I did not know it all.
‘I wanted something very simple, I asked for coffee and doughnuts and they shocked me.’