In November 1999, a 13-year-old girl named Rochetta was trapped in an abusive situation with a man who sexually assaulted her. After getting Rochetta pregnant, he reportedly took the baby away from her in the moments after she gave birth.
In the middle of the night, he wrapped the newborn baby in blankets and left her in the stairwell of a nearby apartment complex. The next morning, a resident named Tonie McNair opened her front door and found the newborn baby, her umbilical cord still attached. Tonie's teenage sons called 911, and emergency responders rushed the nameless "Baby Doe" to the hospital.
Six weeks later, Carrie Thomas adopted the baby girl and raised her like she was her own flesh and blood.
In 2017, Fox 8 ran a story with updates about Baby Doe — or Angel, as Carrie named her.
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Angel was preparing to graduate from T. Wingate Andrews High School with honors. She went from being abandoned in a stairwell by a monster to growing up a happy, healthy teenager with a loving family and the brightest future ahead. Talk about overcoming the odds!
Meanwhile, Rochetta had grown up thinking her biological daughter was dead. However, she never stopped thinking about her and had always hoped to one day see her again. And she also happened to watch the news story about Baby Doe on Fox 8, which led to a heartwarming reunion and a cheering crowd of support at Angel's graduation.
If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, the National Sexual Assault Hotline provides confidential 24/7 support. Call 800-656-HOPE (4673) or chat online at RAINN.
