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California woman reunited with man she found buried alive as baby

By Bob D'Angelo, Cox Media Group National Content Desk
By Bob D'Angelo, Cox Media Group National Content Desk

A California woman who found a newborn buried alive 20 years ago was reunited with him Thursday, KABC reported.

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As Matthew Christian Whitaker celebrated his 20th birthday, his biggest present was meeting Azita Milanian, a woman who saved his life after finding him covered with dirt along a hiking trail in Altadena, California.

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On May 17, 1998, Milanian was jogging with her dogs on the hiking trail when her pets began sniffing around a pile of dirt. Milanian brushed the dirt away and found a newborn boy with his umbilical cord still attached, KABC reported.
Minanian ran for help and returned to clear dirt out of the infant's mouth and nose. After he was taken to the hospital, the infant recovered and was sent to Child Protective Services. He was adopted, and Milanian never saw the child again, KABC reported.

 

This is going to be a long one, so stay with me. In the 13 years that I have been part of this show, I don't think I have worked on something this incredible. If you do not believe in God or in something bigger than you, believe me this is going to change everything. On May 17 of 1998, Azita was jogging when her two dogs noticed something. They started barking at Azita, but she thought they may have found a dead animal and she did not want to get near it. However, the dogs continued to insist. She, then saw something pushing out underneath the dirt. It was a newborn baby. The baby, still with his umbilical chord atttached, was only a few hours old. She ran for help. She then wrapped the baby in a towel and wiped the dirt off his face. As she waited for the ambulance to arrive she told the baby that everything will be ok. The baby wrapped his hands around her wrist and stopped crying. The baby, dubbed Baby Christian survived. His mother or the cruel human that did this to him was never found. Baby Christian was then adopted by a wonderful family. Azita never saw him again. She spent the last 20 years searching for him. She created a foundation in Baby Christian's honor, a non-profit that helps orphan children. But every single day, she hoped that one day she will see baby Christian again. Fast forward to 2018, we get an email from a woman requesting a 23 and Me DNA kit for her son's friend. In the email she says, that this young man is like a son to her and that he recently found out he was adopted. She continues the email by saying, that she would love for him to know who he is and hopes that he can get some answers BECAUSE this wasn't just an adoption -- this young man made national news when he was a baby after being found buried with his umbilical chord attached!! We sent him the 23 and Me DNA kit and get the results back. We are talking to the 23 and Me team and find a news story from 1998 that describes exactly what was described in the email. Could he be the baby that was found May 17 1998?? I continue reading the story. I see Azita's name and I wondered to myself if Azita knew about any of this.... (continued in comments)

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This year, Whitaker learned he was adopted. His friend requested a 23andMe DNA test for him, and the story came to the attention of Patty Rodriguez of KIIS radio in Los Angeles. As her staff researched the story, Rodriguez wondered if Milanian knew anything about the child she had found, KABC reported.

Rodriguez posted the story on her Instagram account, and it led to an emotional reunion between Whitaker and Rodriguez.

Cox Media Group

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