Woman left inside a paper bag as a baby reunites with her rescuers

A woman who was abandoned in a shopping cart inside a brown paper bag as an infant has had a heartwarming reunion with the two women who found and rescued her.

Key Takeaways:

• Pearl Marshall was abandoned at just hours old in a shopping cart inside a paper bag in 1972. She was found to be in good health, and was later adopted.

• Rita Marshall and Darlene Gilleland were the women who discovered her and called for help. When Pearl was an adult, a search led to a reunion with her rescuers, who say they never forgot her.

• Pearl has expressed that her birth mother likely felt like she was in a difficult position, and she is grateful that her mother did the best she could.

• Every U.S. state now allows infant surrenders through safe haven laws, designed to curtail infant abandonments.

The Backstory:

In the summer of 1972, the young infant Pearl Marshall was found abandoned in a shopping cart inside a brown paper bag in the parking lot of a shopping center in Fairview Park, Ohio.

Rita Marshall, 20 years old at the time, noticed that the bag in the shopping cart appeared to be moving. When she looked inside, she couldn't believe her eyes.

“That’s when I saw the baby’s face,” Marshall told The Washington Post. “I was shocked.”

Marshall stayed with the baby while her friend, Darlene Gilleland, ran inside a nearby movie theater to call police. After authorities arrived, they brought the infant to the local hospital, where doctors estimated her to be just two to three hours old. Baby Pearl was initially called "Jeanne Westgate," named after a nurse who cared for her and the shopping plaza where she was found. She was later adopted.

The two women never forgot the baby they found.

“I’ve always thought about her,” Rita Marshall said. “Wondered how she was. What she was doing.”

The Details:

As an adult, Pearl began a search for the story of her beginning.

When Ohio opened previously sealed closed adoption records, she was granted access to her birth certificate, which started the hunt for her birth mother. Using the scant details from her birth certificate, she discovered that she was likely the baby found in the shopping plaza in 1972. After significant sleuthing and with the help of Chris Gerrett, a historical researcher, she found and was able to reconnect with Rita Marshall and Darlene Gilleland.

Women reunite with baby they found in 1972

Last summer, the three women were able to reunite in person, even visiting the plaza where it all started.

“You couldn’t believe your eyes,” Darlene said. “It was like a pinch-me moment. We hugged and cried. All I could think was, ‘I remember you when you were so tiny.’”

“I feel like our long-lost baby has come home,” Rita added.

The women both recounted having a feeling that Pearl's birth mother had been watching the scene unfold on the evening Pearl was found, believing Pearl had deliberately been placed where the two women would find her.

"Whoever left her there cared about her," Rita told People. "She wasn't just discarded like nothing. That's what Darlene and I noticed, and we reassured Pearl of that."

Zoom Out:

Years after Pearl's abandonment and discovery in 1972, each state nstituted a "safe haven" law, giving parents who feel unable to care for their child the chance to surrender that child safely, as an alternative to infant abandonment.

Ohio law currently permits the surrender of infants up to 30 days old to a medical worker in a hospital, fire department or emergency medical services provider, or police officer.

Pearl's genealogical search also led her to her biological father, who was unaware that she existed. Though she was able to reconnect with him, she has been unable to locate her birth mother; however, she says she holds no ill will for the decision her mother made.

“There weren’t many options for women back then,” Pearl said. “She might have been young, scared, and in a very difficult position.”

She told People she wants her mother to know that she is thankful for her life.

"If she were ever to get a message from me, I would want her to know that everything turned out fine, that I know that she did the best she could and I have nothing but appreciation for the sacrifice that she made."