Retiring FBI agent reunites with the baby he saved 22 years ago – who's now a U.S. Marine

Just two months after he joined the FBI, Special Agent Troy Sowers was put on a case that he would remember forever. It was 1997, and Sowers was still new on the job in Washington state when he was assigned to a kidnapping case, Inside Edition reports.

A woman posing as a doctor had stolen a baby from a mother who had just given birth. Authorities went on a 19-hour search for the woman, and when was taken into custody, she led Sowers to the baby boy she had abandoned.

Sowers found the boy in a cardboard box, alive.

"I pulled a baby out of a box. That was tough. I had to take a couple deep breaths before I started talking," Sowers told CBS Knoxville affiliate WVLT.

As a rookie, Sowers was especially excited about the case. That was the start of a long, successful career as an FBI agent. The baby in the box made something of himself, too. He's now a U.S. Marine.

When it came time for Sowers to retire, his daughter started looking for the baby he remembered rescuing. Then she helped plan a retirement party for her dad at the FBI. Sowers' last day turned out to be just as memorable as the first case he was assigned, 22 years ago.

First, Sowers was shown photos of Corporal Stewart Rembert. Then he was told Corporal Stewart was actually there — and that he was the same baby he rescued all those years ago.

"I think that is the perfect bookend. I think to end seeing him again it really just puts the final touch to a career." Sowers told WVLT.

Rembert was looking forward to meeting Sowers, too. He has been a Marine for three years — something that might never have happened if Sowers hadn't rescued him.

"All of this wouldn't have happened if you wouldn't have found me. I wanted to thank you for giving me the opportunity of a life," said Rembert.

In:
• Federal Bureau of Investigation