Melissa Highsmith, kidnapped as as baby in 1971, found alive - The Washington Post

“When we saw her representation — ohio my God,” said her sister, Sharon Highsmith.

“It was incredible,” added different sister, Rebecca Del Bosque. “It was similar looking astatine yourself.”

Melissa, 53, reunited past week with her parents and 2 of her siblings for the archetypal clip successful much than 5 decades acknowledgment to a location DNA test, a matrimony certificate and the assistance of an amateur genealogist, the household said Sunday successful an announcement, previously reported by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

After surviving astir of her beingness arsenic “Melanie,” Melissa is awaiting the results of a laboratory DNA trial to corroborate her identity. Fort Worth constabulary said Monday that they would supply a nationalist update aft receiving the results but were “overjoyed” that the household had recovered its missing member.

The Highsmiths are assured that they person recovered the close person. In summation to a 23andMe DNA kit that linked Melissa’s father, Jeffrie Highsmith, with 1 of her children, determination are each the small things that marque it consciousness right: A birthmark connected Melissa’s backmost that matches 1 she had arsenic a baby. The mode she puts jalapeños connected her nachos, mirroring her siblings’ emotion of spicy foods. The information that she has a canine named Charlie, conscionable similar 1 of her sisters.

A swirl of questions remains astir Melissa’s disappearance. The household doesn’t cognize whether the pistillate who raised her was the kidnapper oregon however she came to beryllium her guardian. Fort Worth constabulary said though the statute of limitations for transgression charges has agelong expired, they would proceed to investigate.

Melissa was 21 months aged successful August 1971, erstwhile her recently separated mother, Alta Apantenco, placed an advertisement successful a paper seeking a babysitter. A pistillate responded and said she could conscionable Apantenco, a waitress, astatine the edifice wherever she worked. But she ne'er came.

Later, the prospective babysitter called. She had a ample backyard and besides cared for different children, she told Apantenco. Could she ticker Melissa there?

Desperate for kid attraction truthful she could support her job, Apantenco agreed. While she was astatine work, the pistillate went to her flat and picked up Melissa from Apantenco’s roommate.

The woman, who the roommate said was wearing achromatic gloves, ne'er returned the child.

For decades, the household searched. They did podcast and paper interviews to support Melissa successful the spotlight. They commented connected a Websleuths treatment forum acceptable up for the case. They rushed to different states erstwhile they thought they had a lead.

In September, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children got an anonymous extremity that idiosyncratic who looked similar an age-progressed photograph of Melissa had been spotted successful South Carolina. That clue, too, fell flat. But the almost-breakthrough reinvigorated the family, who rededicated themselves to uncovering Melissa.

Then, connected Nov. 6, Jeffrie Highsmith’s 23andMe results came back. He had matched with a granddaughter helium didn’t cognize helium had. Then Del Bosque looked astatine her relationship connected the genealogy tract Ancestry.com and saw that the granddaughter shared a past sanction with 2 boys who mightiness beryllium her nephews.

“We realized what that meant was that’s a sibling match,” Sharon Highsmith said. “Those are a sibling’s children.”

The sisters referred the DNA results to Lisa Jo Schiele, an amateur genealogist who utilized charts showing the magnitude of DNA shared betwixt antithetic types of relatives to corroborate that the 3 children belonged to 1 of the women’s siblings.

“I came successful and tried to look astatine if determination were immoderate different possibilities too these being specified adjacent matches to Melissa,” Schiele said. “And it didn’t instrumentality maine agelong to recognize — I mean, I knew close distant that determination wasn’t.”

Schiele connected with the children’s adoptive father, who remembered the archetypal sanction that Melissa was using, arsenic good arsenic her ex-husband’s afloat name. That was capable accusation for the sisters to find a matrimony record, which led them to Melissa’s Facebook page. They sent her a message.

Melissa didn’t judge astatine archetypal that the Highsmiths were her family. Then they mentioned the birthmark connected Melissa’s back, and she agreed to instrumentality a DNA test.

So aft much than 5 decades, Jeffrie Highsmith and Apantenco re-met their girl Saturday successful an affectional reunion astatine a laboratory successful Fort Worth, the portion wherever Melissa had lived for astir of her life. After taking the DNA tests that they anticipation volition corroborate their connection, they went retired to lunch.

“There’s nary uncertainty successful our mind,” astir Melissa’s identity, Del Bosque said. “We conscionable are waiting for the ineligible confirmation.”

Melissa’s beingness without her household of root wasn’t easy. Her sisters said she had a strained narration with the pistillate who raised her and near location astatine property 15. Confronted recently, the pistillate confirmed knowing that Melissa was the kidnapping victim, Sharon Highsmith said.

Now, Melissa is adjusting to the information that she has 2 parents, 4 siblings, and countless nieces and nephews who were hopeless to find her.

“She thought she didn’t person a batch of family, and she conscionable recovered retired that she has a immense household who loves her and ne'er stopped looking for her,” Del Bosque said.

Despite surviving arsenic “Melanie” for astir of her life, Melissa present wants to usage her archetypal archetypal name, her sisters said. She wants to walk much clip with their mother, with whom she felt an contiguous connection.

And she wants to redo her wedding to her existent husband, her sisters said, truthful her begetter tin locomotion her down the aisle.