LAKE COUNTY, Fla. – Almost 18 years after she was dropped off at a Lake County Fire Rescues station as part of the Safe Haven program, a Davenport teen celebrates a big moment in her life with a special support system.
Colleen Katich was brought to Station 112 in Clermont nearly 18 years ago, now, she’s celebrating her high school graduation from Davenport High School.
News 6 spoke to Katich on Tuesday. She told us it feels good to be a high school graduate and to be able to come back and celebrate with the firefighters from Station 112.
Colleen’s mom, Lara, reflected on the days when she saw Colleen’s pictures in the newspaper just as she and her husband were hoping to adopt a baby of their own.
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“Within five days, we had a brand new baby, and I even asked them at the adoption agency, ‘Is this the baby?’” Lara said. “Because everybody called me and said, ‘Hey, did you hear about this? Maybe you can have that baby.’ They didn’t tell us in the beginning, but when we got her on that Friday, they did tell us it was her.”
Since then, the Katichs have updated Station 112′s firefighters -- sending birthday cards and photos. News 6 was there in 2017 when the station named one of their engines after Colleen.
“They called us and asked us if we wanted the truck to be named Colleen,” Lara said. “Otherwise, they were going to name it baby Iris, which is what Dan and what the rest of the firefighters there that day named her.”
Retired Battalion Chief with LCFR, Dan Miller, said he was a lieutenant at the time when Colleen was brought in.
“It was in the evening and the phone rang and I picked it up and it was a gentleman from the Safe Haven program and he said there was a good possibility somebody was going to come drop off a baby in the next few minutes at our station,” Miller said.
Miler said Colleen is the county’s first Safe Haven baby. He said seeing Colleen in her cap and gown made him proud.
“I was glad I was part of helping her get to this point in her life, you know, just thankful every day for it,” Miller said.
After graduation, Colleen told News 6 that she may be interested in eventually attending cosmetology school.
“I couldn’t be more proud to be her mother, and I’m very happy that we had this journey together and look forward to adulthood, for sure,” Lara said.
A Safe Haven for Newborns has saved 390 babies from the dangers of abandonment. Of those, 380 came from Florida, nine from other states, and one from Honduras. For more information on the Safe Haven program, click here.
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