Santa Ana, CA – Officer Reunited With Newborn He Found In Dumpster In 1989

Santa Ana, CA – An officer who found an abandoned newborn in a garbage dumpster has been reunited with the now 25-year-old man he helped save.

Santa Ana police officer Michael Buelna and Robin Barton recently met in an emotional reunion, KABC-TV reported (http://abc7ne.ws/1QwNdzt ).

“I hoped that someday I would see him again,” Buelna said.

Buelna was on duty in November 1989 when he heard a faint sound coming from a trash bin. Buelna started shifting through the trash and discovered a baby, his umbilical cord still attached. The child was just four hours old and weighed 4 pounds, 2 ounces.

“He still had all the mucus and stuff and all the trash and gravel was sticking to him,” Buelna said. “I tried to give him a tiny little bit of breath, and he reacted a little bit.”

Buelna wanted to adopt the boy, but another Orange County family stepped in first. They named him Robin Barton.

Officers released a sketch of Barton’s 19-year-old biological mother, later identified as Sarina Diaz, to the public. She was arrested and later sentenced to three years in prison for child endangerment and attempted murder.

Barton said he was “blessed with a great family” who raised him. In their meeting with Buelna, Barton’s adoptive father, Daniel Fernandez, expressed his gratitude toward the officer.

“I had the opportunity to shake his hand and look in his eyes and say, ‘Thank you for saving his life,'” Fernandez said.

Barton said he is searching for his biological mother and hopes that meeting her will also provide closure.

“I’m not angry or upset with her, and I forgive her because she was a young woman in a very compromising position,” Barton said.