From the Yonkers Police Department:
Some calls stay with you long after you go home. This was one of them.
On February 6, 2024, Yonkers Police Officers Katie McEvoy and Tyler Barriera responded to a report of a newborn baby found abandoned in the hallway of a Yonkers apartment building. The officers immediately took the baby into their care and, with the assistance of Empress EMS, transported her to Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital in Valhalla.
While the baby was being treated, Special Victims Unit Detective Sgt Cherie Prashad, Detectives Dean Renzi, and now-retired Monique McManus, alongside Detective Vionett Martinez (Cold Case Unit), Detective Javier Sarmiento (Intelligence Unit), and Detectives from our Major Case Squad worked diligently to investigate the circumstances surrounding her abandonment and hold the person responsible for placing her in danger accountable.
More than two years later, that baby was reintroduced to us as Baby Melanie. Following the recent finalization of her adoption, Baby Melanie and her family returned to Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital for an emotional reunion with the Police Officers, Detectives, Doctors, Nurses, and staff who played a role in her rescue and care.
For our Officers and Detectives, it was a rare opportunity to see what happened after their part of the story ended. Police officers routinely encounter people during some of the most difficult moments of their lives, but rarely get the opportunity to see where their stories ultimately lead.
Yesterday, they did.
They saw a happy little girl surrounded by a loving family, along with medical professionals including Dr Edmund LaGamma (Chief of Newborn Medicine) and De Borah Brinston (NICU Nurse Manager), and other medical staff who all played a role in caring for her after our officers placed her in their hands.
From the Officers who found and protected her, to the Detectives who sought justice for her, to the medical professionals who cared for her, and ultimately to the family who gave her a loving home, so many people became part of Baby Melanie’s story.
Yesterday wasn’t about remembering how that story began- it was about celebrating where it led. And we were so grateful to be a part of it.