I was contacted by Lisa in November 2016. She was looking for help to analyze her DNA matches, build her family tree, and identify her birth parents. As with many adoptees, she had no information about her birth family and no medical history.

She and fellow adoptee Daphne already had a good start but they needed someone who could devote more time to the search. Within a few days, we were able to separate a good number of maternal and paternal matches. The biggest challenge we faced was that Lisa’s non-ID records indicated that her birth mother had also been adopted.

We had been invited to do an interview for ABC affiliate WEAR TV in Pensacola and were eager to share how DNA can be used to search for biological family.

Through continued research, we were able to make contact with potential relatives on Facebook who put us in contact with the daughter of a woman who seemed to match the non-ID profile for Lisa’s birth mother. The family was able to confirm that the woman we wanted to contact had indeed been adopted (by a relative) and could be Lisa’s birth mother.

Yesterday, we met with Lisa’s potential half sister and a likely 2nd cousin. It was a fun afternoon listening to family stories and getting to know her new relatives. Both ladies provided samples for AncestryDNA tests which were dropped in the mail that afternoon. While we wait for the results of those tests to confirm her maternal family, we continue to attempt to make contact with her paternal family in California.