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Woman takes in dad and 4-day-old daughter who were unable to fly home

Posted at 12:44 PM, Mar 22, 2018
and last updated 2018-03-22 12:44:51-04

PHOENIX, Ariz. — When an Ohio man and his 4-day-old daughter were denied a flight home and had no place to stay, a woman stepped in and opened her home to them, according to KPHO.

Rubin Swift had just gained custody of his newborn daughter and flown to Phoenix to pick her up. After getting all needed documentation to have the girl cleared for the flight, he reached the gate and was denied the opportunity to board.

Swift, who was told it would be seven days before he got his money back, was broke and had nowhere to go – or so he thought.

While Swift’s daughter was in the NICU, he met a volunteer who helped care for the baby girl. So he called her and asked for help.

“I didn’t expect her to say, ‘I’m coming to get you and take you home.’ So, I’m thinking, ‘She is going to drive me back to Cleveland’ but she actually brought me to her house and feeding me and making sure my baby is alright,” Swift told the station.

The volunteer, Joy Ringhofer, let them stay with her until the newborn was seven days old and able to fly.

“I had such a strong feeling that I needed to do this for him,” Ringhofer said. “I know he was a kind and safe man to have in my home and he has been a perfect gentleman.”

Swift now says Ringhofer is the baby girl’s grandmother and promised to back and visit.