She Left a Conference in Sugar Land the Moment She Heard It Was a Baby |
Jefferson County Constable J.C. Pollard had 24 hours to find a 22-day-old newborn and bring him home. She did it in less. |
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On July 1, a writ of attachment arrived at the Jefferson County Precinct 1 Constable's Office from a court in Lubbock County. The order was clear: find a 22-day-old newborn, and return him to his mother, who lives more than 600 miles away in Lubbock.
Constable J.C. Pollard was at a conference in Sugar Land when the call came in. She asked what the target was. When she heard it was an infant, she did not finish the conference. She drove back.
Her office immediately coordinated with the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office and the Beaumont Police Department. Officers worked nearly 20 hours straight from the time the writ arrived to the moment the child was safe. They established surveillance at the Beaumont home where the baby was believed to be staying before approaching. When they did, the father peacefully handed over the infant. The recovery took about 10 minutes.
The baby was reunited with his mother in Beaumont. She had been separated from her newborn son by more than 600 miles. That ended on July 3.
Constable Pollard described what it felt like to hold the infant after the recovery.
"I haven't held a baby in 20 years," she said.
Beaumont law enforcement moved fast, moved carefully, and brought a child home. In a summer when this city has been asking hard questions about how it protects its most vulnerable, this is the other side of that story. Twenty hours. One baby. Home. |