Two DC Journalists Help Find a Missing Baby

BETHESDA, Md. - July 14, 2016 - PRLog -- WASHINGTON, DC— Journalists normally stay out of a story. But on Wednesday all of that changed for WUSA9 Reporter Andrea McCarren and WUSA9 Photojournalist Dave Satchell who helped Virginia authorities find a missing baby after an Amber Alert was issued for the infant.

Fairfax County Virginia Police were hoping someone could help

Fairfax County Police were hoping someone could help find an infant after her mother fled a family services office in Annandale, Virginia. WUSA9 assigned the McCarren/Satchell team just after 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday when Virginia authorities issued an Amber Alert for 6-week-old Liz Khatun.  After speaking to several neighbors of the mother, one told McCarren that he thought he knew where Khatun had taken her baby. The man, however, was afraid of going to police himself and asked the WUSA9 reporter to relay the message to authorities.

It was a very unusual position for a journalist and McCarren explains: "All I kept thinking was Journalist. Humanity. News. The safety of a baby." So she called police and gave them an address for where the baby might be in Hyattsville. The reporter and her photojournalist then drove to the address, being careful not to alert the mother. "We did not want to do anything to alienate the police investigation," McCarren said. But as they drove around the apartment complex, they saw the van with tags that matched the Amber Alert.

"Both of Dave and I are parents and there's nothing like a missing child that really gets you going," Andrea said. They moved a little further away from the vehicle, but kept an eye on it as FBI began staging in the area. They waited nearly 30 minutes for police to arrive.

We just kept saying to each other;

"We gotta get the baby, we gotta make sure that baby is safe"

Agents went into the apartment and came out with a baby bundled in a car seat and took her to safety. "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 from Khatun.

A safe ending for the baby and for the mother. An extraordinary experience for two journalists.

WUSA9's Ongoing Commitment

To Missing Children

According to Executive News Director Bill Lord, "This was a very satisfying outcome for the WUSA9 team. Our people in the field made all the right decisions and the baby was located unharmed." Lord added, "For several years now we have championed missing children in our multi-platform "Bring Them Home" campaign. This was an amazing connection to that effort"

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