In 2010, 6-year-old Giovanni “Govi” Eastwood—a boy with Down syndrome—was found starving in his Kansas attic, weighing just 17 pounds. His mother had hidden him there while police took his siblings. Officers returned on a hunch and discovered him, skin and bones, covered in excrement, unable to walk or talk. Doctors said he wouldn’t have survived much longer. His mother now serves 8 years for attempted murder. Govi was adopted by his great aunt and uncle. Six years later, he reunited with the officers who saved him—shaking their hands, thanking them, and being made an honorary deputy. “The kid is magical,” his family said. He slept with his plaque that night.
