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42 Years Later, Woman Searching Social Media To Find Mother Who Abandoned Her

YUBA CITY (CBS13) — A woman is on a mission to find her mom—the woman who abandoned her at birth on the steps of a Yuba City hospital in the 1970s.

Now living in Oregon, Jennifer Chervin, 42, is using Facebook to find her and learn more about her California roots.

On Dec. 18, 1971, the baby dubbed Baby Jane was found on a sidewalk in front of Fremont Memorial Hospital when nurses heard crying outside.

"They heard what they thought was a kitten that was crying outside a fire door," Chervin said.

They found Chervin, just a few hours old, after being abandoned by her mother. Now she's trying to find out who left her outside the hospital a week before Christmas.

"I would feel complete, and I would feel that void is gone, because I would know me—where I came from," she said.

Bev Mathews Osborne was there on that cold December morning delivering her own baby and remembers the commotion.

"There was a lot of confusion going on, and a lot of people in the hall, and I finally found out it was because a baby had been abandoned,"she said.

She never forgot that baby, and always wondered what happened until she saw a post from Jen on Facebook.

"I was so excited; I knew it was her," she said. "I said, 'I was there when you were found. I was there in the hospital.'"

When Bev sent the now-mother of two a message, they developed a special bond across state borders. These days, they talk every day through the social media that brought them together.

And Jen is hoping this isn't the only connection she makes.

"I hope it will reach out to the right person," she said. "It would mean everything to me."

So far Jen hasn't received any word about her biological parents, but her post on Facebook has already been shared by 5,000 people.

She says she's not angry or bitter. She just wants to have a conversation about her family's medical history and possible siblings.

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