Author: angie

KC Star Story from 2012: A Review

Posted by | Dec 10, 2014 | , , , , , , , , |

The following story was originally printed in the Kansas City Star. Since it’s been removed from their site, I’m reprinting it here.  Everyone calls him Bill Atkinson. Before that, he was Stephen Michael Doe. And before that, well, that’s the mystery. He was found, abandoned, in a phone booth, less than a day old and covered in nothing but a blanket. The puzzle of his origins remains unsolved a generation later. Now a 41-year-old husband and father of three, he’s hunting for the family he never knew — the woman he never got to call Mom, the man he never called Dad. But where to start? Short articles in The Star and The Kansas City Times offer only tenuous clues of that June 7, 1972, morning. He was discovered bawling by a woman at a 7-Eleven store at 4039 Metropolitan Ave. in Kansas City, Kan. Doctors figured he was just 12 hours old at the time. One story said he weighed 5 pounds 8 ounces, another had him at 6 and a half pounds. He has no interest in replacing the only family he’s ever known, whom he loves as much as ever. But now that he’s started his own family, he wants answers that might give his children valuable information about medical histories — and his distinct personal history. “I want to know more,” Atkinson said, about “people who look like me, who think like me...

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New clue discovered in the search for the parents of the June 1972 phone booth baby

Posted by | Dec 10, 2014 | , , , , , , , , , , |

In  my research, I recently discovered another clue in the search for Bill’s birth parents.  It’s an article that we hadn’t found before, dated June 13, 1972 entitled “Await Word on Abandoned Baby.” In this one, written just 7 days before his adoption was finalized, it states that Kansas law required a waiting period of one year before he could be adopted – UNLESS the birth mother came forward and signed the papers. So that means his birth mother came forward, right? Well, maybe not. See, there’s this one twist: there is no birth mother in the papers. There was a letter releasing him for adoption that was signed by a police officer who, as far as is stated, signed in lieu of the mother, who couldn’t be found. I’d love to hear anyone’s thoughts on this one.  Click to enlarge the photos to read the Kansas City Star’s story.  Our original story is printed below, in case you missed it.  Since we wrote that, we were interviewed by reporter Trey Williams and featured on the front page of the Kansas City Star as well as on websites all over the world.  We have also taken a DNA test and have found some second cousins. If you’re on AncestryDNA, you’ll find us under the username AtkinsonFamilySTL. Bill and I are the two who have tested, so he’ll be the...

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Hubbard Man Reunited with Birth Mother After 25-Year Search

Posted by | Mar 26, 2013 | |

Mother and child union, immediately after birth (Photo credit: Wikipedia) Fred McBride, 47, of Hubbard, described meeting his birth mother and half siblings over the weekend in Buffalo. He started looking for her when his wife, Chrissy, was pregnant with their oldest child, who is now 25. McBride has known all his life that he was adopted. He always wondered what his mother was like and if she ever thought about him. As it turned out, she had been looking for him too. McBride was born in Canada and was adopted in the United States, so he had to have a passport. That passport gave Fred and Chrissy their first piece of the puzzle because his birth name was on the passport: Charles Daryl Black. He was naturalized as a U.S. citizen at the age of 4. After learning he was born in Canada, Fred and Chrissy went to Toronto 18 years ago to see if they could locate his birth mother. The agency that facilitated the adoption gave them non-identifying information such as how old his mother was and where he was born. “His mother was 16 and his father was 18. They were high school sweethearts and her mother told her she was not allowed to bring a baby into the house. So, she sent Patricia away until Fred was born. He was in foster care until...

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New App Connects Expectant Parents with Would-Be Adoptive Parents

Posted by | Mar 26, 2013 | , , , , , , , |

Open Adoption Picnic (Photo credit: Tapestry Dude) Interested in Adoption? New Open Adoption App from Independent Adoption Center Connects Families with Expectant Mothers Independent Adoption Center released a free mobile app for iOS and Android devices last week called Open Adoption that puts important adoption resources and search features at the fingertips of expectant mothers and families seeking to adopt. Independent Adoption Center is a trusted leader in domestic open adoption. The Open Adoption app will help women to understand adoption so they can make the choice that is best for them.  Independent Adoption Center, the nation’s most trusted domestic open adoption agency, rolled out a new app for iOS and Android mobile devices last week that will connect families and expectant mothers like never before. The free app, called Open Adoption, was released on Google Play and iTunes last week and are now available for download. The Open Adoption app puts important adoption information and resources at the user’s fingertips. Mothers can search for families interested in adoption and vice versa, as well as connect with pregnancy counselors and receive information about the adoption process – all for free. “The purpose of the app is to provide a new way for people to get quality information about open adoption and how the process works,” said Ryan Schwab, marketing director of Independent Adoption Center. “We also hope to match...

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Open Adoption Over the Years (With Video)

Posted by | Mar 26, 2013 | , , , , , , , |

Adoption (Photo credit: Wikipedia) Here at Find My Birth Family, we support open adoption for obvious reasons. We only wish Bill had the same luxury as a child.  See our story here. From the Video Creator: Begins with a scene of a birth and adoptive family preparing a meal together as the children play. They have formed a natural, comfortable extended family. Speakers share stories of how they welcome and value each other; how they honor the needs of the child; and how they are supported by Open Adoption & Family Services (OA&FS) through lifelong counseling and access to an open adoption community. OA&FS is a nonprofit adoption agency located in Oregon and Washington: http://www.openadopt.org. Related articles Identifying Toxic Family Relationships Guest Post: The Very Real Issue of Abortion in Teen Drama Guest Post: 5 Ways to Make Your Home the Safest in the Neighborhood Florida Is In A Dog State Of Mind Guest Post: Taking your child to a restaurant: Dos and Don’ts Fit Mission: Tone Up Flabby Arms Have You Registered for Preschool Yet? Better Hurry! Open Adoption Explained – How an Open Adoption Works & Benefits Preparing for Your Adopted Child OAB Roundtable: What is open adoption to...

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