Teanna Elliot made headlines across Canada before she even had a name.
Now the 麻豆精选 woman is in the news again as she looks to put an end to a mystery that started with her birth, decades earlier.
It was Nov. 25, 1987, when two teenage boys skateboarding in a Calgary shopping centre parking lot saw something tucked between a parked Mercedes-Benz and the curb.
A green garbage bag contained a newborn that would soon make national news with the name 鈥淏aby Mary.鈥� From the look of things she鈥檇 had just been born, still covered in blood and afterbirth and attached to her umbilical cord.
The boys called a passerby to the scene, and all three made their way to a medical centre where police were called.
鈥淚 was the first officer out at it,鈥� said Staff Sgt. Rod Harbidger, of the Calgary Police Service, noting that his memory of the circumstances has been blurred.
What has lasted the test of time, however, is the great care and compassion he saw Baby Mary receive in those early moments from the boys鈥� who were only around 13 years old 鈥� the passerby and the medical staff. And that she survived, against all odds.
鈥淛ust when you go look at the parking lot where she was found and how she was next to a tire and how cold it was that day 鈥� there鈥檚 no telling how long it would have taken for hypothermia to set in,鈥� he said.
鈥淭he way it (came together) was very fortunate.鈥�
No leads on who left Baby Mary behind ever came to the fore and the investigation ground to a halt not long after she was absorbed into the loving family who raised her and renamed her Teanna.
FINDING FAMILY
Mike and Teresa Guzzi were like everyone else in Calgary at the time, caught up with the story of Baby Mary. The difference in their case was that Teresa saw something else鈥攖he missing piece of their family.
鈥淢y mother had already had my brother, but they wanted another baby,鈥� said Elliot, explaining it was impossible for her mother to do so biologically, because of a recent cancer battle.
鈥淭hey were on an adoption list, and when they were watching the news that morning, my mom said, 鈥榦h my gosh, Mike, I want this baby.鈥欌��
Mike tried to discourage her, thinking it was a long shot, but she persisted and contacted a social worker.
It took nine days until the Guzzis took Elliot home.
At first she was their foster baby, then six months later they were given permission to adopt.
鈥淢y parents shaped me, and they made me who I am,鈥� said Elliot. 鈥淭hey are so supportive. I know a lot of people say, 鈥榶ou should be grateful for your adoptive parents.鈥�
鈥淏ut they鈥檙e not my adoptive parents, they are my mom and dad.鈥�
GROWING UP
Elliot wasn鈥檛 always so at ease with the story of how she entered the world.
While she always knew she was adopted, she didn鈥檛 know she was 鈥淏aby Mary鈥� until she was 12-years-old, when questions about her origins became more pointed.
鈥淭hen my mom had to tell me and at first, I thought it was cool,鈥� she said, adding that she remembers going to her classmates to share her birth story.
In time, however, that changed. When she was around 16 or 17-years-old, what being abandoned actually meant started to sink in.
鈥淚 felt a lot of pain and hurt 鈥� somebody didn鈥檛 want me,鈥� she said.
鈥淭hen, at age 20, I decided I鈥檓 not going to dwell on this. I have a great life and it is what it is. There鈥檚 no reason to be upset.鈥�
She still, however, wants to meet her birth mother and this month she launched her third attempt at doing so.
FULL CIRCLE
Elliot has had a lot of time to think about what led her birth mother to abandon her in such unusual circumstances.
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.
鈥淪he told me she remembered thinking, 鈥榟ey girl, you have your whole life ahead of you, why are you so upset?鈥欌�� said Elliot.
It wasn鈥檛 until she saw the news that night that the woman thought maybe that was Baby Mary鈥檚 mother.
Although there鈥檚 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鈥檚 stayed with people.
Elliot hopes that her birth mother will not be deterred from reaching out because of the media glare.
鈥淚 think after 30 years they鈥檝e lived with enough,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey probably think about it every day. That鈥檚 good enough, if I do find them and they want to keep it private, I will keep it private.鈥�
If you or anyone you know has any information go to the Facebook page titled Mary Olympia Doe or email marydoe1125@hotmail.com
