With living in neighbourhood, woman reunites with parents after over half century
The woman who raised Melissa finally told her that she had purchased her on the street for $500
May 06, 2023
In what could be called a miracle, a woman — who was kidnapped when she was just 22 months old — met her parents after over a span of a half-century in Texas, United States.
According to the details, Melissa Highsmith, now 53, was abducted from her parents' Fort Worth home in 1971 by a babysitter when she was a toddler.
Her parents and siblings had been looking around the country for her for more than half a century — but she had been living just 10 minutes away.
Her parents eventually found her through her children's DNA samples which were shared on the genealogy website 23andMe last year. Fort Worth Police Department, however, announced on Thursday (May 4) it had completed official DNA testing which confirmed Melissa's identity as the missing child.
The police issued a statement to confirm Melissa's identity after spending months working to complete their DNA testing.
She was reunited with her biological parents — Jeffrie Higshmith, 72; Alta Alpantenco, 73 — and siblings — Rebecca Del Bosque, 48; Victoria Highsmith, 47; Sharon Highsmith, 45 and Jeffrey Highsmith, 42 — on November 26.
"Before I met my new family I reached out to the mother that I thought raised me and asked her if there was something she needed to tell me," she previously told Dailymail.com.
“She told me she had purchased me on the street for $500,” she added.
“I was shocked. My head was spinning. I didn't sleep. She never told me," Melissa said, "but she always told me that she had something to tell me that she had been wanting to tell me for a long time that is when I told her I already knew.”
