Hat Box Baby:Was it staged? - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

jeffhietala · 07-23-2004, 04:26 PM

Does anyone remember the "Hat Box Baby" story? It was the story of a baby girl who was found inside a hat box that was sitting on the side of the road one night around the holidays. I remember there being a dispute on the show as to if the people who claimed they found the baby had purposely placed it in there. Was there any fact behind this story or was it a hoax?

PracTz · 07-24-2004, 06:23 PM

The only surviving person who discovered the baby was the girl teen cousin of the older couple and when traced and questioned, she claimed to have no memory whatsoever of this rather bizarre and unusual set of events. It could be she's now in her 80's and has genuinely forgotten OR it could be that she intends to take the secret to her grave!

Thor2000 · 04-13-2009, 10:18 AM

I recall this case. I put everything I know about it on the Unsolved Mysteries Wikia

Necco · 04-13-2009, 10:54 AM

I think this was staged. I think the family was indeed helping a young family member or friend out of what was then a scandalous and heartbreaking situation. Reputations were protected, the baby was saved. I think they viewed it as the best way out.

I wonder if they ever considered doing DNA testing to see if she was in fact related to the family.

yuppielawyer · 04-13-2009, 11:55 AM

I agree it was staged. The chances of them happening to stop on the roadside in the middle of nowhere and finding the baby in the box were astronomical. I agree that they were probably doing it to save embarrassment to a family member or friend.

TracyLynnS · 04-13-2009, 12:24 PM

If the hatbox baby, sharon, is looking for her birth parents, (assuming that finding the baby was staged) why not just tell her already...

But now it's too late. Everyone involved is probably dead, and has taken this to their graves for no good reason. Saving the repution of the birth mother in 1931 was no longer more important than helping the "abandoned" child by the time the 60s 70s and 80s rolled around.

If she's still living, sharon would be about 78 years old.

ms_bates · 04-13-2009, 01:48 PM

If it wasn't staged, that baby had one incredible guardian angel.

But you do have to wonder why no one would tell Sharon the truth once she was an adult.

TracyLynnS · 04-13-2009, 02:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ms_bates

But you do have to wonder why no one would tell Sharon the truth once she was an adult.

After all, there are no more stigmas left.

Sorry, couldn't resist.

There was a similar case with a family I know. A married woman's younger, unmarried sister had a baby in 1966. The married sister adopted the baby, to save her younger sister's reputation. Only a few people knew the truth.

But there was a problem. The baby was a girl, and once she got to be a teenager, she looked exactly like her aunt, who was supposedly of no biological relation to her.

The really dense people would remark about how uncanny it was that the adopted child looked exactly like her young aunt, and my mom and I would just look at each other like

, "I can't believe you people haven't figured this out yet".

ms_bates · 04-13-2009, 02:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TracyLynnS

After all, there are no more stigmas left.

Sorry, couldn't resist.

There was a similar case with a family I know. A married woman's younger, unmarried sister had a baby in 1966. The married sister adopted the baby, to save her younger sister's reputation. Only a few people knew the truth.

But there was a problem. The baby was a girl, and once she got to be a teenager, she looked exactly like her aunt, who was supposedly of no biological relation to her.

The really dense people would remark about how uncanny it was that the adopted child looked exactly like her young aunt, and my mom and I would just look at each other like

, "I can't believe you people haven't figured this out yet".

Haha. That reminds me of my uncle (Dad's little brother) he looks nothing like that side of the family, but apparently looks a lot like the guy who lived next door to the family in the early 60's. (and yes, that is his father). It's just one of those things families pretend not to notice.

yuppielawyer · 04-13-2009, 05:19 PM

Seriously, people keep secrets like this all the time. By the time anyone who would be embarassed by it is gone or the "stigma" has worn off, the inertia of the secret is usually enough to keep it in place. A lot of people think it causes nothing but trouble to "bring up old stuff like that." It doesn't surprise me at all that no one ever told her the truth.

DP1 · 04-13-2009, 11:16 PM

I hope it was staged. Otherwise, there's no excuse for abandoning a baby like that.

Cori aka ChrisSCrush · 04-14-2009, 05:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DP1

I hope it was staged. Otherwise, there's no excuse for abandoning a baby like that.

Yeah, leave it someplace warm where it will be seen and heard--not the middle of a desert at night!

TracyLynnS · 04-14-2009, 11:21 AM

How far out in the desert was she left? How far away from a village, town, city, neighborhood, any place with people?

What was the story that the couples said about why they were out driving?

IIRC, Thor's wikia site says the baby was abandoned in 1931. I would have to imagine that roads out in the desert at night were rarely travelled back then. And how many people even had cars? It was the depression. Almost none of my relatives owned cars back in the 20s and early 30s.

I think the chances of any car at all driving by were probably about zero. Then, these folks have a flat tire right near where the baby is conveniently waiting for them. Very strange.

I would love to see this segment again. I haven't seen it since it was on lifetime years ago.

yuppielawyer · 04-14-2009, 11:59 AM

Yes, the circumstances of the "discovery" of the baby all point to it being a hoax. There's really no doubt in my mind.

Cori aka ChrisSCrush · 04-14-2009, 11:45 PM

Not only a flat tire in a remote area at night, but the woman chose to walk away from the car while the men were changing the tire to the exact spot where the baby was found.

07-23-2004, 04:26 PM	#1
jeffhietala Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Jul 23, 2004 Location: Minnesota Posts: 5	Hat Box Baby:Was it staged? Does anyone remember the "Hat Box Baby" story? It was the story of a baby girl who was found inside a hat box that was sitting on the side of the road one night around the holidays. I remember there being a dispute on the show as to if the people who claimed they found the baby had purposely placed it in there. Was there any fact behind this story or was it a hoax?

07-24-2004, 06:23 PM	#2
PracTz Member Senior Member Join Date: Jul 14, 2002 Location: United States of America [Happily Living in the 20th Century] Posts: 2,711	Who knows. . The only surviving person who discovered the baby was the girl teen cousin of the older couple and when traced and questioned, she claimed to have no memory whatsoever of this rather bizarre and unusual set of events. It could be she's now in her 80's and has genuinely forgotten OR it could be that she intends to take the secret to her grave!

04-13-2009, 10:18 AM	#3
Thor2000 Thor2000 Occasional Poster Join Date: Feb 07, 2003 Location: Hendersonville,TN Posts: 95	I recall this case. I put everything I know about it on the Unsolved Mysteries Wikia
	__________________ Unsolved Mysteries Wikia http://unsolvedmysteries.wikia.com Most of the cases, most of the facts...

04-13-2009, 10:54 AM	#4
Necco Member Senior Member Join Date: Jan 06, 2006 Posts: 1,149	I think this was staged. I think the family was indeed helping a young family member or friend out of what was then a scandalous and heartbreaking situation. Reputations were protected, the baby was saved. I think they viewed it as the best way out. I wonder if they ever considered doing DNA testing to see if she was in fact related to the family.

04-13-2009, 11:55 AM	#5
yuppielawyer Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Oct 06, 2008 Posts: 184	I agree it was staged. The chances of them happening to stop on the roadside in the middle of nowhere and finding the baby in the box were astronomical. I agree that they were probably doing it to save embarrassment to a family member or friend.

04-13-2009, 12:24 PM	#6
TracyLynnS Don't Look Up Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: Jan 07, 2009 Posts: 3,107	If the hatbox baby, sharon, is looking for her birth parents, (assuming that finding the baby was staged) why not just tell her already... But now it's too late. Everyone involved is probably dead, and has taken this to their graves for no good reason. Saving the repution of the birth mother in 1931 was no longer more important than helping the "abandoned" child by the time the 60s 70s and 80s rolled around. If she's still living, sharon would be about 78 years old.

04-13-2009, 01:48 PM	#7
ms_bates Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Jul 14, 2008 Location: Bay Area, California Posts: 134	If it wasn't staged, that baby had one incredible guardian angel. But you do have to wonder why no one would tell Sharon the truth once she was an adult.

04-13-2009, 05:19 PM	#10
yuppielawyer Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Oct 06, 2008 Posts: 184	Seriously, people keep secrets like this all the time. By the time anyone who would be embarassed by it is gone or the "stigma" has worn off, the inertia of the secret is usually enough to keep it in place. A lot of people think it causes nothing but trouble to "bring up old stuff like that." It doesn't surprise me at all that no one ever told her the truth.

04-13-2009, 11:16 PM	#11
DP1 Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Nov 21, 2004 Posts: 394	I hope it was staged. Otherwise, there's no excuse for abandoning a baby like that.

04-14-2009, 11:21 AM	#13
TracyLynnS Don't Look Up Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: Jan 07, 2009 Posts: 3,107	How far out in the desert was she left? How far away from a village, town, city, neighborhood, any place with people? What was the story that the couples said about why they were out driving? IIRC, Thor's wikia site says the baby was abandoned in 1931. I would have to imagine that roads out in the desert at night were rarely travelled back then. And how many people even had cars? It was the depression. Almost none of my relatives owned cars back in the 20s and early 30s. I think the chances of any car at all driving by were probably about zero. Then, these folks have a flat tire right near where the baby is conveniently waiting for them. Very strange. I would love to see this segment again. I haven't seen it since it was on lifetime years ago.

04-14-2009, 11:59 AM	#14
yuppielawyer Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Oct 06, 2008 Posts: 184	Yes, the circumstances of the "discovery" of the baby all point to it being a hoax. There's really no doubt in my mind.

04-14-2009, 11:45 PM	#15
Cori aka ChrisSCrush Member Senior Member Join Date: Dec 30, 2001 Location: USA and still trying to be proud of it! Posts: 2,068	Not only a flat tire in a remote area at night, but the woman chose to walk away from the car while the men were changing the tire to the exact spot where the baby was found.