Four decades later, a woman is reunited with a Dallas couple who found her abandoned

This morning haunted a Dallas couple for over 40 years when they found a baby abandoned in the snow in Kansas City.

Until recently, Bob Hopkins and his partner Bob Wisnant wondered what became of the baby and why they were in the right place at the right time on that fateful morning.

Behind a yellowed 1982 Kansas City Star article is a story that Hopkins and Whisnant have retold over and over again.

“We woke up one morning. I just bought a new Jeep and a new snow blower,” Hopkins said. “There was 33 inches of snow on the ground or something like that and it was 10 degrees below zero,” said Hopkins, who decided that he and Whisnant would clear the driveway.

At a neighbor’s house, Hopkins said he noticed the snow when Whisnant inspected the piece of land. Wiesnant then noticed that something was moving on the back porch.

“In my peripheral vision, I saw movement, but there was no one there. Nothing was moving except in my peripheral vision, so I turned and looked, and it moved almost like a metronome,” Whisnant said. “So we got out of the car and walked up to the porch, and there in the box is a wrapped package with a note pinned to it.”

Inside, the men saw a child wrapped in green winter overalls, still warm and smiling despite the cold temperature.

There was nothing to identify her, only a note saying she was no longer to be taken care of.

With the help of the homeowners, the men called the police, and the child was eventually handed over to Child Protective Services.

Years later, Hopkins and Whisnant said they often shared the story with friends and students, wondering where she was now.

“What happened to that little girl? Who took her in? Is she alive? Isn’t she? Is she the president? Is she a janitor?” Hopkins said.

Decades later, Tyra Pearl stumbled upon an old Facebook post that Hopkins had shared while looking for her.

Although she learned years ago that she was abandoned as a baby, she recently contacted her biological family and came across a more recent article in the Kansas City Star in which Hopkins wonders where she ended up.

“It never occurred to me to find them,” Pearl said.

With the help of her brother, Pearl, who learned that her real name was Shontell Anderson, contacted Hopkins and Whisnant.

Eventually, with the help of Murray Media, the three had a long-awaited reunion in Dallas.

“Tears, tears, many tears. I mean, this man saved me. Like he didn’t pay attention to that box that was on the stairs, or he just said, “Oh, I’ll go about my business.” “I would die,” Pearl said. “Sounds trite, but this is my hero.”

At their meeting, Pearl told the men about her happy childhood, successful career, upcoming wedding, and the two children she had raised with her grandson.

Although she never had the opportunity to meet her biological mother, Pearl said there was no ill will.

“She did what she did. She thought it was better that way. And actually I lived a better life probably because of what she did,” she said.

It’s a better life, which was in part because of the role Hopkins and Whisnant played that day, and they hope they can continue to play in the future.

“I told her as we left, ‘Is this the end of our story? Hopkins said. “And we both looked at each other and said, ‘I hope not.’