Robin Barton, 25 years of age got lost and was discovered by retired policemen Michael Buelna in a dumpster of Santa Ana, California dated November 21, 1989 with his umbilical cord still attached.
Barton was adopted by a couple from Orange County, Elizabeth Barton and Daniel Fernandez, and said they adopted a newborn baby during that time of 1989. Robin Barton’s adoptive family only recently told him his infamous origin story: that he was left to die in a dumpster until his rescuer discovered him and resuscitated him.
But even he was with his adopted parents, he always wanted to meet the man who saved him in a dumpster the same way police officer Michael Buelna wanted to see him again.
I hoped that someday I would see him again, Buelna said in ABC news interview.
Their prayers were answered when after 25 years, they have got a chance to meet again. After the reunion between Buelna and Barton aired on ABC on April 24. Buelna started moving trash around and then made the shocking discovery.
The reunion of Michael Buelna and Robin Barton. Photo credit to ABC7.
I noticed the umbilical cord and he was covered, he still had all the mucus and stuff and all the trash and gravel was sticking to him, Buelna said. I tried to give him a tiny little bit of breath and he reacted a little bit, he added. The baby weighed just four pounds, two ounces and named him “Adam”, Buelna recalls.
“Adam” was adopted by Elizabeth Barton and Daniel Fernandez of Orange County and renamed Robin.
It’s been an honor and privilege to be your mom, Elizabeth Barton said.
Meanwhile, Robin Barton said living with his adoptive parents has been “wonderful.” “I was blessed with a great family,” he said.
Recently, he and his parents met the officer who rescued him. Buelna said it was a very emotional meeting.
I had the opportunity to shake his hand and look in his eyes and say, ‘Thank you for saving his life, Daniel Fernandez said.
Robin Barton’s biological mother was sentenced to three years in prison for child endangerment and attempted murder.
Last Sunday, they finally met, along with two of Barton’s five sisters. Barton hoped his mother might hear the story of his reunion with his rescuer and find him. Instead, news reports caught the attention of Barton’s birth father, Marcos Meza, who’d been looking for him for years. When asked about her mother;
Barton said, I’m not angry or upset with her, and I forgive her because she was a young woman in a very compromising position.
He says he’s trying to find her, adding that it’ll help provide some closure and will also give him the opportunity to tell her he forgives her.
To date, Barton was able to speak with his mother as well by phone, he said Santa Ana police said she was deported to Mexico after being released from prison.
Team DailyPedia
