Boy With Down Syndrome Found Starving and Locked in Attic Reunites With the Officers Who Saved Him

In 2010, six-year-old Giovanni “Govi” Eastwood was discovered locked inside his family’s attic, severely neglected and starving.

Although he was six, Govi weighed only 17 pounds—the size of a much younger child. He could barely walk or speak and was suffering from severe malnutrition and rickets.

Police had initially taken his siblings to safety after his mother was arrested, but Govi was still missing. Officers suspected he might be somewhere inside the home and returned to search again.

They eventually heard him in the attic.

What they found shocked them. Govi was extremely weak, covered in excrement, and had been left without proper food, care, blankets, or toys. Doctors believed he might not have survived much longer if the officers hadn’t found him that night.

Govi was later adopted by his great aunt and uncle, Stacy and Joe Eastwood, along with his two sisters.

His recovery was slow. At first, he struggled to feel safe around other people. But with love and care, Govi began to heal and grow into a happy, loving child.

Six years after his rescue, at age 12, Govi was reunited with the officers who had saved his life.

He visited the sheriff’s department, where he was made an honorary deputy and received a special plaque.

The transformation left the officers amazed.

“The kid is magical,” his great uncle said. “Everybody he comes in contact with, he just brings out a better person in them.”

Govi shook the officers’ hands and thanked them for rescuing him.

That night, he reportedly slept beside the special plaque he had received—a powerful reminder of the people who helped give him a second chance at life.