Man Finds Doll Laying On Subway Floor And Realizes It's A Living Baby

May 07, 2021

What was almost overlooked due to a frantic rush turned into something beautiful and heartfelt to a man and his partner. A man in New York found a baby doll laying on the subway floor late one night in August 2000. Social worker Danny Stewart was late for a dinner date with his partner, Pete Mercurio, and needed to take the train located at the 14th Street station in the Chelsea district of Manhattan. At first, he ran past the object he initially spotted, not really thinking much about it. After taking a second look and examining it closer, Stewart realized that it was not a doll he was looking at but instead a newborn baby boy.

According to CNN, the baby was only a few hours old at the time Stewart found him wrapped in an old sweatshirt. The baby even had his umbilical cord still attached to his body. It was an unbelievable sight, and it seemed like no one else had noticed the baby that Stewart had thankfully come across. He quickly took action to try to get help to make sure the baby was safe and healthy.

Stewart had miraculously found Kevin, the name he and his partner later gave the child. After many trials and tribulations, the couple was able to move forward by expanding their family and celebrating many landmark moments with one another. In a beautiful and heartwarming story, Stewart and Mercurio welcomed the boy into their family, and their adoptive son later helped the two of them with yet another wonderful milestone.

Stewart was in a rush when he arrived at the subway station in summer 2000. At first, Stewart didn’t know that he had stumbled across a newborn baby, as it looked like just a toy to him. “All that I saw was two little legs sticking out, but I still thought it was one of those new realistic dolls,” he told CNN. BBC News reported that Stewart was confused as to why someone would leave their doll on the ground but continued on his way up the stairs to exit the subway station. 

“I glanced back one more time, and that’s when I noticed his legs moved,” he revealed. He immediately rushed back down the stairs to retrieve the baby boy and make sure he was okay. “He did look up and I stroked his head, and then he whimpered a little bit,” Stewart said about the quiet and yet incredibly alert newborn. 

It seemed like no one else noticed what was happening, and Stewart struggled to get help. “It seemed really unreal, the whole situation, and at that point I was trying to alert people to what was happening, but I couldn’t get anybody’s attention,” he said.

He quickly made the decision to run upstairs and outside to find a payphone on the street to call the police and Mercurio, before hurriedly making his way back to the baby. Mercurio arrived at the station just as the police were carrying the baby away to be taken to the hospital for a check-up, according to BBC News.

“I remember turning to Danny and saying to him on the sidewalk as the police car was driving away, ‘You know, you’re going to be connected to that baby in some way for the rest of your life,’” Mercurio said.

Stewart and Mercurio went back to their daily lives after not making much headway on what was happening with the baby. The former later received an invitation from the Administration for Children’s Services to attend a family court hearing in December 2000 to talk about how he had found the infant. After hearing his story, the judge then asked if he would be interested in adopting the baby. 

After some careful consideration and heated discussions, Stewart and Mercurio decided to go ahead with the adoption process. “I had not had thoughts of adopting, but at the same time, I could not stop thinking that  I did feel connected,” Stewart said. “I felt like this was not even an opportunity, it was a gift, and how can you no to this gift.” They were reunited with Kevin and were instantly overcome with emotions. 

“He was just staring up at me and I was just looking at him, and it was almost like he found a pressure point in my finger that just opened up my heart to my head and showed me in that moment that I could be one of his parents, one of his dads,” Mercurio said about how he felt holding Kevin. The adoption process soon began afterwards, although it wasn’t finalized until Dec. 17, 2002.

In 2011, New York had become the sixth state in the United States to legalize gay marriage. According to BBC News, Kevin was excited about the idea of his two dads finally being able to get married. 

Coming full circle, Stewart and Mercurio were able to have the same judge who approved of the two of them adopting Kevin to officiate their wedding ceremony. Although their relationship had been cemented a long time beforehand, they were now able to check off yet another amazing milestone in their time together.

Kevin has grown into a kind young man and has surpassed both his fathers with his incredible standing, standing over six feet tall. Stewart and Mercurio’s son, now 20 years old, is currently studying math and computer science at college. “Kevin’s always been a respectful kid,” Mercurio said. “He’s a private person, but also a quiet leader.”

Stewart chimed in with his own thoughts of reflection. “I can’t imagine my life if it didn’t turn out this way,” he said. “My life has become much more enriched and full. It has changed my worldview, my perspective, my whole lens.” 

The heartwarming story was the inspiration for Mercurio’s book “Our Subway Baby,” which tells the story of how he and his partner found Kevin and started their family together.

Over 20 years ago, Stewart discovered what he thought was a doll at a subway station, only to later realize it was a baby. That baby quickly became an important person in his life and has grown up with Stewart and Mercurio over the years. The beautiful family has been spending precious moments together ever since.

What did you think of this heartwarming story? Let us know, and be sure to send this to your own family members and friends.