24 years ago, a police officer was dispatched to an abandoned baby. Decades later, he finally learned the baby’s surprising identity.

South Bend, Indiana — Gene Eyster, a retired police lieutenant, can’t drive past a specific apartment complex here without reliving that strange day 24 years ago.

“It was one of the strangest calls I’ve ever received: ‘We have a baby found in a box,'” Eyster, a 47-year veteran of the department, told CBS News. “Are you still wondering what happened?”

On December 22, 2000, a newborn baby was found abandoned in a common hallway. For Eyster, the case of the “Baby Boy Doe,” swaddled in cardboard and blankets, did not end once the child arrived at the hospital.

“I came home with a teddy bear,” Eyster said. “Just a symbol to let everyone who passed by him know that we cared about him.”

For more than two decades, Eyster wondered what had become of this boy. Unfortunately, the files were sealed, so there was no way of knowing.

That was until just a few weeks ago, when Eyster received a phone call from a fellow officer, who asked if he remembered the case of the baby left in the box.

“And he (the officer) said, ‘that’s (the baby) sitting next to me, that’s my recruit,'” Eyster said.

The rookie in question was Matthew Hegedus-Stewart, the baby in the box. After his rescue, he was placed for adoption. He always knew he was left in a box, but he didn’t make the connection with Eyster until after he joined the department.

Today, Hegedus-Stewart wears the same uniform as Eyster and patrols the same neighborhood.

“It’s come full circle,” Hegedus-Stewart said. “That struck me. I can only imagine his point of view.”

He really can’t imagine. Because what may seem like a coincidence to Hegedus-Stewart, to Eyster it seems guessed. Their reunion and new friendship came just months after the unexpected death of Eyster’s only son, Nick, at the age of 36.

“So the timing couldn’t have been better, it helped fill a void that I had to deal with,” Eyster said.

Twenty-four years ago, Eyster was called to be there for a child in need. Now the child is ready to return the favor. And whether it’s a coincidence or not, the result is undeniably excellent police work.