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KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A woman has been reunited with a Kansas City police officer who she calls her hero - a reunion 20 years in the making. Klynn Scales lost contact with the officer when she moved out of state, but she recently returned to thank him in person.

Growing up in her neighborhood off of 27th Street is a hazy memory for Scales. What she does remember is the Kansas City police station down the street, a 7-Eleven store, and a Kansas City police officer who saved her life.

"Through all the bad situations, I would just picture him saying that he was here for us and that if we ever need him, he would be right there," Scales recalled. "He would always protect us, and so those words would come to me during the worst times of my childhood life."

Scales now lives in Texas, but FOX 4 spoke with her via FaceTime.

She said she grew up in a home filled with drugs and violence, with her mom and two brothers. At 9 years old, Scales met a police officer who would stop by her house daily.

"He was that one person that I trusted in my life as a kid," Scales said.

Scales admits she stole food for her two brothers from the nearby 7-Eleven. When she didn't come running to greet the officer one day, he walked into the house and found her sick. He took her to the hospital where she was treated for malnutrition.

All this, and she didn't know his name.

"I had actually thought about her and wondered whatever happened with her ... when I was over by the old east patrol station," said Sgt. Jeff Colvin. He was the officer Scales said looked after her.

Colvin received an email in June about a little girl who used to live by the station. Sgt. Jennifer Jones tracked him down and reunited the two in Kansas City.

"Most times we go through our career not realizing we truly helped anybody out," Colvin explained. "That was the case with me where I wondered if I was even in the right career path."

Scales was finally able to thank him for all that he had done for her.

"I just never thought that this would happen, to find my hero," Scales said.

Scales said Colvin inspired her to become a police officer herself in Houston, Texas. In two months, she will begin the application process.