Man abandoned as toddler searching for family

Last Update: 10/06/2009 6:22 pm

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GREENSBURG, Kansas – As a toddler, he was found in a Kansas field more than 40 years ago. He was adopted by a local family and raised with no clue about who his parents were and why they left him to die. Now, a Greensburg man is looking for answers.

Back in 1966, a flier was circulated around central Kansas. The “Little Brave of Mullinville” was found by a farmer, abandoned on a cold, late March morning.

“Some people would think it’s an atrocity or tragedy to have this happen to you, but I was blessed by somebody upstairs to be found,” said Michel Kaltenbach.

Kaltenbach says he was raised in a good home by a pair of loving foster parents. But now he’s searching for his biological family. He has no idea where he’s from, what his birthday is or even his own ethnic make-up.

“It would be good to know just for my personal history to at least know where I come from whether whoever, wherever just know where I come from its just the bottom line – it’s something I need to know,” he said.

“Our main goal for doing this is to try to find someone who knows something and will eventually come forward,” said neighbor Linda Brehm.

Brehm was Kaltenbach’s next door neighbor as a child. She reached out to him over the summer to let him know she would do whatever she could to help him find his biological family.

“I said, ‘well I think it would answer some unanswered questions you have it would help get your life on a more even keel, make you feel more settled -- I would prefer if you want to I would be more than glad to help,’” she said.

Kaltenbach says he believes his parents left him to die in that field 43 years ago. But he says he’s not angry.

“I’ve dealt with it,” he said. “I’m not going to let bitter feelings this late in the day - I’m actually wanting to give them a chance to get to know me and to know my kids and what family I’ve got.”

Now Kaltenburg just wants his story to be told, hoping someone who hears it will be able to provide him with the part that’s missing – the first chapter.

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