Baby Jane Doe who was abandoned in an airport in 1980 reveals she is set to ... trends now
At long last, former pageant star Elizabeth Hunterton, who was abandoned at the airport after just being born, is set to meet her biological mother in the coming weeks.
Hunterton, 41, had always known she was adopted. In January of 1980, just 10 days after she was born, two pilots found her unattended at a gate in an airport in Nevada.
Over the years, she has shared her journey via social media, chronicling the many bumps she experienced on the road to discovering who she is.
Since there was little to no information about the 'airport baby,' social services referred to Hunterton at the time as 'Baby Jane Doe.'
While she was adopted into a loving home almost immediately, Hunterton was left wondering who she was, and why she was left behind in the first place.
'I was about 10 days old,' she told People Magazine in a 2021 interview. 'I grew up my entire life trying to figure out what I did in those 10 days that ultimately led to them saying, 'Let's just leave her at the airport.''
Former pageant star Elizabeth Hunterton (pictured), who was abandoned at the airport after just being born, is set to meet her biological mother
The 41-year-old said she always knew she was adopted (Pictured: Her adoptive mother (left) and Hunterton as a baby (right)
While she was adopted into a loving home almost immediately, Hunterton was left wondering who she was, and why she was left behind in the first place. (Pictured: her biological father (left) and Hunterton as a baby (right)
Since there was little to no information about the 'airport baby,' social services referred to Hunterton (pictured) as 'Baby Jane Doe'
Encouraged by her best friend to share her story on TikTok, Hunterton has been documenting her journey of searching for her birth parents, as well as being open vulnerable about the emotions and healing that come with discovering the truth behind her abandonment.
Hunterton had a stellar childhood and was raised in a white family in Reno who loved her beyond measure. She was crowned Miss Nevada in 2004 and is still CEO of the organization today. She married a man with whom she shares two biological sons aged 5 and 6, and also a stepson.
She said her adoptive parents had a beautiful way of explaining her adoption, leading with kindness instead of vilifying her birth mother.
'I just remember my mom explaining that I was lucky enough to have two sets of parents: one who loved me enough to raise me and one who loved me enough to give me up,' she said in a TikTok video.
In fact, her parents managed to skip a four-and-a-half-year adoption waitlist.
Hunterton (left) was crowned Miss Nevada in 2004 and is still CEO of the organization today
Pictured: Miss Nevada Elizabeth Muto Hunterton appears during the swimsuit preliminaries wearing a yellow and black two-piece Speedo during the Miss America Competition at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J., Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2004
She married a man with whom she shares two biological sons aged 5 and 6 (center)
Hunterton (centrer) also has a stepson (left) with her husband (right)
Hunterton said she had a stellar childhood and was raised in a white family (left: adoptive mother, right: adoptive father) in Reno who loved her beyond measure
'Social Services called every other potential adoptive parent who has been approved, and those that had been on the waitlist for longer than 28 days, and all of them said no - no they were not willing to adopt a black baby,' she said in a TikTok video.
'They called my parents, and with no questions asked, my mom and dad sped down the hill, picked me up, and I've been with them ever since.'
'If my birth mother had known that I would end up with the world's best and most loving parents, the best teacher she ever could have prayed for, she never would have wasted one second of energy wondering if she made the right decision.'
Hunterton didn't have a known birthplace, birthdate, or race, which made it almost impossible for investigators to help her discover her backstory.
In August 2021, a 23andMe test connected her to a few distant relatives, but none of them were her parents.
'If my birth mother had known that I would end up with the world's best and most loving parents, the best teacher she ever could have prayed for, she never would have wasted one second of energy wondering if she made the right decision,' Hunterson said in a TikTok.
Hunterton's biological father (left) passed away in 2004, and did not know he had a daughter
A distant relative put Hunterton (left) in touch with her uncle (right), who was the brother of her biological father
A distant relative put Hunterton in touch with her uncle, who was the brother of her biological father.
In a TikTok video, she recounted what it was like meeting her uncle.
'I was so warmly welcomed, which blew my mind,' she said. 'called my biological uncle and he was like 'my dear niece,
