The search for his mother lasted for two decades after she abandoned him along with his 4 siblings. Despite his rocky beginnings Michael Buelna turned out just fine, eventually becoming a police officer in Santa Ana, California.
In November 1989 Buelna responded to a report of a baby’s cries coming from an alley. After investigating, Buelna found a premature baby boy had been left behind in a trash bin. He performed CPR on the tot and rushed him to the paramedics.
His discovery made headlines that year as the city searched for the mother of “Baby Adam,” a name given to him by Buelna. As the years rolled by Buelna wondered what happened to that baby in the dumpster.
This week Buelna and “Baby Adam” were reunited for the first time in 25 years. “Baby Adam” grew up to become Robin Barton and coincidently is now searching for the birth mother who abandoned him.
When the pair shook hands for the first time Barton said, “Nice. Wonderful to finally have met you, to see the man who found me first.”
Police eventually found and arrested Barton’s mother, Sabrina Fabiola Diaz, for her crime. Diaz who would be 45 today, spent several years in prison before being deported.
Buelna, who is no longer a police officer but still as resourceful, has offered to help Barton during his search for his birth mother.
“I don’t blame her, and I’m not angry or upset with her,” Barton says he plans to tell his birth mother when he finds her.
In an amazing twist of fate, the reunion between Barton and Buelna also triggered yet another reunion, this time with Barton’s biological father, Marco Meza. Meza’s parental rights were terminated by a judge after his son was found abandoned near a dumpster. Meza had not had any contact with Barton until he heard about the overdue reunion between his son and his son’s rescuer.
Meza claims that he has always wondered about his son but he could not find him because the adoption records were sealed. After the story of his son’s reunion aired on television, friends who saw the program called him because they thought he and Barton looked alike.
Barton told CBS Los Angeles that he is grateful for the chain of events that led to meeting his newfound family, his rescuer and especially the family that raised him.
