After 30 years, still ‘hopeful’ in search for birth parents
Baby Mary interested in ‘finding out why’ she was abandoned in a parking lot
Before she was able to walk or talk, a Calgary baby made headlines when she was found tucked inside a garbage bag and left in a parking lot.
It’s been almost 30 years since the infant dubbed Baby Mary was discovered by two teenage boys on Nov. 25, 1987. Now that she’s all grown up, a 29-year-old Mary — whose real name is Teanna Elliot — is looking for her birth parents and has taken to social media to find whoever left her behind so many years ago.
“I’m definitely hopeful but I’m also not getting my hopes up,” Elliot said. “I’m thinking positively.”
Elliot’s post has been shared more than 2,000 times since she first put it on Facebook in 2014, but so far there have been no leads. Elliot said she is holding out hope the right person will see the post so she can find answers to questions she’s had for nearly three decades.
“I would want a relationship and finding out history and finding out why. I think that’s the huge question, is ‘Why did you do this?’ ”
Elliot lives in Kelowna with her husband, Steven, and the couple have a daughter of their own.
When Elliot was just nine days old, she was adopted by a B.C. couple, Mike and Teresa Guzzi, who have been supportive of her journey to find out about her past.
Elliot said she has always known she was adopted, but when she was 12, she started asking questions about where she came from. The Guzzis decided it was time to tell her the story and gave Elliot a collection of newspaper clippings and pictures from when she was found.
At first Elliot said she was “nonchalant” about her unique origin story, casually telling friends she was “found in a parking lot.” But as years went by she became more curious about why her mother left her and she started to feel the weight of being abandoned.
“It was hard to think somebody didn’t want me,” Elliot said, adding she doesn’t think her birth parents are “horrible” people for leaving her the way they did. “They were probably scared, young people who didn’t know what to do.”
Elliot said there have been some negative comments online aimed at her and her parents, but said she is just searching for a part of her history, not to “replace” the couple who took her in as a newborn.
“I don’t call them my adopted parents ... 100 per cent, they are my mom and dad,” Elliot said. “There’s no question about that and I am beyond grateful to them.”
Despite having no solid leads, Elliot said she will continue the search and feels hopeful and excited that she will one day fill in the gaps of her story, both for her and her young daughter.
Elliot said she holds no animosity toward her birth parents and she feels “emotionally ready” to connect with them if they are ever found.