Melissa Highsmith was 22 months old when taken by a babysitter in 1971. She has lived in Fort Worth most of her life and never knew she was kidnapped.
A woman who was kidnapped as a child 51 years ago was identified through DNA and found still living in Fort Worth, Texas, her family announced on Sunday after being reunited with her this weekend.
Melissa’s mother, Alta Apantenco, had left the toddler in the care of her roommate, who handed her off to the babysitter on Aug. 23, 1971, the family said in a news release Sunday. The family worked with an amateur genealogist who helped them understand the DNA results and research public records to find their long-lost loved one, according to the news release. Melissa reunited with her parents and two of her four siblings for the first time on the weekend after Thanksgiving.
“This is not the hardest genealogy puzzle I’ve ever solved,” Schiele said in the release. “I hope what I do gives other families the confidence to do the same. Never give up.”
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