The story of Baby Mary is one that few can personally relate to, but her unique history and search for answers did strike a cord with many.
“Baby Mary” is Teanna Elliot, a Kelowna woman who was abandoned at birth in a Calgary parking lot, making headlines across the country.
At the start of 2017, she made headlines again when she looked to put an end to a mystery that started Nov. 25, 1987 with her birth, and she embarked on a search for her biological mother with support from her adoptive parents.
“My parents shaped me, and they made me who I am,” said Elliot. “They are so supportive. I know a lot of people say, ‘you should be grateful for your adoptive parents.’”
She is. But she still wanted to fill in blanks like what led her birth mother to abandon her in such unusual circumstances? To date, she hasn’t found out.
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Someone once contacted her, after an early attempt to find her mother, and said she had seen a young girl, maybe 14 or 15-years-old, on a bench near where she was found, at around the time she was found, looking down and out.
“She told me she remembered thinking, ‘hey girl, you have your whole life ahead of you, why are you so upset?’” said Elliot.
It wasn’t until she saw the news that night that the woman thought maybe that was Baby Mary’s mother.
Although there’s no way to know if that really was her biological mother on that bench, the story does highlight how much traction that story got in the media and how long it’s stayed with people.
Elliot hopes that her birth mother will not be deterred from reaching out because of the media glare.
“I think after 30 years they’ve lived with enough,” she said. “They probably think about it every day. That’s good enough, if I do find them and they want to keep it private, I will keep it private.”
Elliot is still looking for answers. If you have any, find her through her Facebook page titled Mary Olympia Doe or email marydoe1125@hotmail.com
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