On Wednesday, a news crew from WUSA, Tegna’s CBS affiliate in Washington, D.C., went from covering a story of a missing baby to aiding in the infant’s recovery.
Reporter Andrea McCarren and photographer Dave Satchell were in Fairfax County, Virginia after police issued an amber alert for the 6–week-old child, whose mother fled with her from a family services agency. A neighbor said he thought he knew where the mother and baby were but asked McCarren to relay the message to police because he was afraid to tell them himself.
After alerting authorities, McCarren and Satchell drove to the apartment complex where the mother reportedly was and, after seeing a van with tags that matched those identified in the amber alert, waited for police to arrive.
Agents went into the apartment and came out with a baby bundled in a car seat. "My heart sang. I felt like that baby is out of danger now," McCarren said. Authorities then went inside and took the mother into their custody. CPS had a court order to take the baby away.
