Boys Rewarded For Saving Abandoned Baby

Clinton McKinney and Christopher Martin hop on their bikes nearly every day and leave their Drexel neighborhood in the dust to explore the countryside around them.

Tuesday, the Jefferson Township boys made a life-altering discovery: They found a newborn wrapped in a blanket and left on Shank Road.

Because of their efforts, the infant is in good condition at Children’s Medical Center and in temporary custody of Montgomery County Children Services.

At 3 o’clock Friday, the boys will be presented new Huffy 10-speed mountain bikes for their part in the baby’s recovery. The gifts will be presented, along with certificates of good citizenship, at township government offices, 587 Infirmary Road.

“Township trustees, along with the advisory board of the Dora Lee Tate Service Center, purchased the two bikes just to say thank you for being responsible and helping out,” Mark Madry, director of the center, said.

“You hear about kids doing the wrong things and getting in trouble,” he said. “It’s nice to hear about kids doing something good.”

For Clinton, who wants to be a ballplayer when he grows up, the bike is reward enough. Until now, he’s had to use a friend’s, said the boy’s grandfather and legal guardian, Linville Hatton.

“He doesn’t have a bike,” Hatton said of his 10-year-old, freckle-faced grandson. “When he rides, he borrows. He’s always wanted a dirt bike.”

Township Administrator Robert Bradley said the boys “acted beyond their years in terms of their finding the child and assisting. Most people would have tripped out.”

Meanwhile, Dayton Police Sgt. Larry Grossnickle said the department has run down about 20 leads. “We don’t know what we’re looking for,” he said. “We’d appreciate anybody who has a lead on someone who might have had a black or biracial baby who might not have wanted to hang onto it to call. We could use all the help we can get on it.”