Atlanta woman holds out hope for baby stolen 35 years ago

ATLANTA — More than 35 years after a woman stole a baby boy from his metro Atlanta home, there's a new push for clues to crack the case.

Donna Green says her life has been a journey.

"I never let a day go by without wondering," Green said.

She's still searching for her son and the woman who stole him.

"I always tell myself that wherever he is God is, and that's what gets me by," Green said.

In 1978, Green went to Grady Memorial Hospital and gave birth to a boy she named Raymond. The next day, she met a woman who called herself Lisa Morris outside the nursery.

Green said Morris had stopped by her room several times while she was at Grady, and when it came time to take Raymond home, Morris was in her room again. And she said Morris had asked for a ride home, which Green agreed to without giving it a second thought.

She said Morris told her she'd walk home from her place.

"I figured I just made a new friend, so I really didn't think much more about it. I let her in," Green said.

Though the house on Mourey Avenue in southeast Atlanta is long gone, Green still remembers going upstairs to take a shower, leaving Raymond with Morris and the baby's uncle, who fell asleep.

"When I came back down, she was gone," Green said.

Morris was gone with 6-day-old Raymond.

"Everything from that point was unbelievable, like, 'Where's my baby? Who took my baby? Why do you have my baby?'" Green said.

A composite was made from photos of Raymond's family that shows what he may look like today.

"It kind of blew my mind, because in my mind, he's still that little baby that I held," Green said.

For Atlanta police, the leads dried up long ago.

"The most frustrating thing is we'd like to know where he is ourselves, as well," said Atlanta police Capt. Paul Gerrucci.

Cold case officers run Green's DNA through databases from time to time hoping for a hit.

Still, Green has hope and remarkably forgives Morris.

"I forgive her. I pray that she took good care of him and I hope someday something in her heart will just make her want to tell him the truth," Green said.

Until then, Green holds out hope.

"We keeping the light on for him. We know he's out there. We believe he's OK, and we believe one day he's going to come home," Green said.

If you have any information about the woman who took Raymond Green or think you know where they are today, you're asked to call the Atlanta Police Department.

WSBTV