Texas 'hero' couple rescues baby abandoned in shed wearing 'little dress and no diaper'

Texas mother of three Katharine McClain said people often tease her husband, John McClain because his name is the same as the lead character in the 1988 blockbuster movie "Die Hard."

Although their last name spelling is one letter off, those who know the couple say they have one thing in common with the fictional persona lately: They are both heroes.

McClain, 52, told USA TODAY Monday that she and her husband, John , 54, woke up early Saturday to the sound of a truck driving away from their home in Livingston, a small town about 70 miles northeast of Houston.

When they checked their home security camera, she said, they saw a shirtless man checking their vehicle doors and eventually learned someone stole their neighbor's truck.

When daylight broke, she said, the couple's dog Archie led them to an even bigger surprise: a crying baby in their outdoor shed.

"My dog was barking around the shed and my husband went out there to see what was going on.... opened the door and the baby was laying on the floor," said Katherine McClain, a U.S. Army veteran. "She had on a little dress and no diaper."

So she said she picked up the baby and wrapped it in a towel after her husband told her to dial 911.

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"I don’t have words to explain my reaction," said Katharine McClain, who shares 15-year-old twins and a 17-year-old son with her husband. "Never been more worried or scared for a baby in all my life. Just complete and utter sorrow for her with the unknown of what had or may have happened to her."

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Photos show the child wrapped up in a towel while waiting for an ambulance to arrive.

The baby was later taken by to a hospital in Houston to be treated for a broken leg, McClain said.

Felony charges filed against father

The Livingston Police Department could not immediately be reached for comment about the case.

But authorities told KHOU that the McClains' neighbor's stolen truck was later found with the child's father behind the wheel.

Records show he was booked in the Polk County Jail on charges including abandoning or endangering a child, the outlet reported.

Officials said a vehicle that belonged to the child's father was found abandoned near railroad tracks behind the McClain property.

On Monday, McClain said the baby, who she learned is 9 months old, was back with its mother.

Meanwhile, throngs of people took to social media to praise the McClains for their quick action.

"I'm so glad y'all found her before she was in there all day and only who knows what would have happened," Nancy Scharnhorst posted on Katharine McClain's Facebook page.

Facebook user Patricia Hennessey added, "God bless you and John and I’m so glad that y’all found her when you did!"

Natalie Neysa Alund covers trending news for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on Twitter @nataliealund.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Texas couple saves abandoned baby with no diaper found in their shed