Katheryn Deprill, known as the ‘Burger King baby’ after she was abandoned in a restroom as an hours-old newborn 27 years ago, reached out to her birth mother by making a simple request
Pennsylvania: A woman who, as a newborn, was abandoned in the bathroom of a Pennsylvania fast-food restaurant said she has found her birth mother just three weeks after launching a search that garnered worldwide attention, and as her mother prepared to look for her.
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Katheryn Deprill (27) said on Tuesday she felt ‘pure joy’ when she met her biological mother for the first time Monday at an attorney’s office. And, after she learned the sad details of her conception and abandonment, she said she understood why her mom did what she did.
“She is better than anything I could’ve ever imagined. She is so sweet and amazing. I’m so happy,” said Deprill, who has become known as the Burger King Baby. The woman had decided about six months ago to launch her own search for the daughter but she gave up.
Deprill began her quest on March 2 by posting on her Facebook page a photo in which she held up a sign saying that she was searching for her mother. The photo was shared more than 30,000 times by Facebook users around the world, and Deprill’s story landed in numerous media outlets. That caught the attention of the woman who abandoned her, and she came forward to attorney John Waldron, who arranged for them to meet.
Deprill said she bears a very strong resemblance to the woman, whose name she wouldn’t disclose. Deprill, a mother of three who lives outside Allentown in South Whitehall Township, said she embraced her mother. “I got the hug that I had wanted for the last 27 years, and that broke the ice,” she said.
“I asked if I could have it, and she said, ‘absolutely,’ and just held her arms open, and the rest is history,” she added.
The pair met for about four hours and exchanged contact information. Deprill said they plan to meet again. “We are definitely going to have a relationship,” she said.
Deprill was accompanied by her adoptive mother and her youngest son, 7-month-old Jackson.