Valentine’s Day 2026 turned into an unforgettable night for a Milford family — and two local officers — when a baby girl made a dramatic early arrival with a police escort.

Josh and Katelyn Wuthrich were expecting their baby in late February. But just after 11 p.m. on Feb. 14, their daughter decided she wasn’t going to wait.

The couple called 911 and told Kosciusko County Dispatch they were heading south on State Road 15 and needed to reach Lutheran Kosciusko Hospital in Warsaw as quickly as possible. They said they couldn’t wait for an ambulance.

Around 11:08 p.m., Indiana State Police Trooper Austin Slone was traveling north on SR 15 near County Road 1100 North when he spotted a vehicle matching the dispatch description heading south. Slone activated his emergency lights, turned around, and caught up to the car after it pulled over.

The driver told the trooper, “We’re having a baby!”

At the same time, Milford Police Department Deputy Marshal Dallas Rice arrived on scene. The two officers quickly decided to escort the couple to the hospital as it became clear the baby was coming fast.

They made it just in time.

Baby Ellie was delivered in the front seat of the vehicle as they pulled into the hospital’s emergency room parking lot at approximately 11:16 p.m. Hospital staff rushed outside and brought mother and baby in for care.

Last week, Trooper Slone and Deputy Rice reunited with the Wuthrich family at the Milford Police Department — this time under much calmer circumstances — where they met baby Ellie and presented her with a custom-made blanket featuring both departments’ logos.

For the Wuthrich family — and the officers involved — it’s a Valentine’s Day they won’t soon forget.