Woman dumped in fruit box as baby tracks down siblings after five decades

A woman who had been abandoned in a fruit box at just 10 days old was introduced to the siblings she never knew existed after more than five decades. Caroline Harris-Grey had known from a young age that she had been adopted.

But as a teenage schoolgirl, her loving adoptive parents Jean and Adrian decided to tell her the full story. Caroline, now 55, had been left in a box in a hospital matron's office by her unknown biological mother just days after her birth.

Caroline, now a therapist, said: "Like any teenager, I was having an identity crisis at that time. I was loved and never treated differently to my brothers but at times, I'd look in the mirror and think, 'I don't know who I am'. So finding out I was a foundling added to that. I felt lost and abandoned."

After she had her own son years later, Caroline began to understand the desperation her birth mother must have felt to abandon her, The Mirror reports. She said: "I know the love you feel for your baby, so she must have been desperate. Poor woman."

The mum began to wonder more and more about her past but took a while to start looking for any biological relatives, purely out of respect for her adoptive family. She said: "I didn't want my parents to think I wasn't grateful for the loving upbringing they gave me.

"I didn't want to hurt them. And though I was curious, I thought the chance of finding anything out was slim. I came to live with that."

When she eventually decided to take the plunge, Caroline enlisted the efforts of ITV's Long Lost Family. Last year, this led to a first meeting with biological half-siblings actor Paul, aged 56, and Tina, a 53-year-old artist.

Speaking about the moment they met, Caroline said: "There was an instant bond... like I'd found my people. We had the same humour. It felt like I'd known them forever."

On the day that turned her world upside down, Caroline reveals that her adoptive parents, PA Jean and surveyor Adrian, presented her with two birth certificates; one listing them as her parents and the other revealing her identity as Caroline Wales.

The name 'Caroline' was given by the nurse who found her abandoned in the hospital, while 'Wales' derived from the Prince of Wales Hospital in Tottenham, North London, where she was discovered.

After spending time in a children's home, baby Caroline was adopted by a family in Potters Bar, Hertfordshire, joining her new brothers Paul, now 63, and Duncan, 61.

Leaving home at 17, Caroline eventually married car salesman Dean at 23 and welcomed her son Luke three years later. Luke's premature birth brought Caroline's own origins to the forefront of her mind.

She said: "It hit home. Luke was premature and I recall sitting by the incubator, willing him to pull through. It made me think my birth mum must have been absolutely desperate to fight those maternal feelings."

When her dad Adrian passed away seven years ago, Caroline felt it was time to begin the search for her biological parents. Despite hitting dead ends, she reached out to Long Lost Family, the heartwarming ITV programme presented by Nicky Campbell and Davina McCall, in 2021.

The show, which reconnects adopted individuals with their relatives and also works on establishing identities for foundlings in its spin-off, Born Without Trace, embarked on a mission to help Caroline. Their research led to a 1968 newspaper article titled 'Baby girl abandoned in hospital' yet the discovery brought unexpected joy to Caroline.

She said: "I thought I'd been left naked in a box, but it said I was in a white petticoat, dress, shawl and cardigan with green knitted booties. I burst into tears. I wasn't just thrown away like rubbish. My mother dressed me with love and the fact I was two weeks old showed she had tried. She must have loved me."

The diligent team from the show eventually located her biological father Ray, who had sadly died from cancer in 2009 at the age of 64. However, they uncovered that she had a half-brother and sister through him, both of whom were eager to meet her.

In 2023, Caroline met with Paul and Tina, in Brighton, as well as with her paternal aunt Gloria. Caroline was a bundle of nerves, but the moment she laid eyes on them, the anxiety melted away into warm embraces. She said: "I remember looking at them and thinking, 'I look like someone', as I'd never had that before."

She discovered that Ray was a firefighter from Haringey, North London. His life took a turn when his father passed away, leading to a breakup with his girlfriend. It's believed that during this period, he fathered Caroline with another woman, only to reconcile with his former partner, with whom he had Paul and Tina, all the while unaware of Caroline's existence.

Now settled in Cambridgeshire with her partner Trevor, Caroline initially kept her search for her family a secret from her mother Jean, worried about the potential hurt it could cause. However, they ended up watching a preview of her Long Lost Family episode together.

During the show, Ray's sister Gloria expresses that had they known about Caroline, they would have welcomed her into their home. Caroline said: "My mum said to me, 'I'm so glad they didn't, otherwise we wouldn't have had you'. It made me cry."

While the quest to find her birth mother continues, Caroline holds onto hope. She said: "She might see the programme but if she doesn't want to come forward, I understand. Meeting her would be the icing on the cake but I've met my siblings and found out about my birth father and I'm really happy with that."

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