The identity of Melissa Highsmith, a Texas woman who was kidnapped as a baby in 1971 and reunited with her family in November 2022, was officially confirmed by a DNA test, Fort Worth police said this week.
What Happened With Melissa Highsmith?
According to her family, a babysitter took 21-month-old Melissa Highsmith from her Fort Worth home. According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s account of the case, Melissa’s mother was a waitress. She had recently relocated to Fort Worth after getting divorced from Melissa’s father. She advertised her search for a caregiver for her child in a newspaper.
Image source- Fox News.com
A lady who called herself Ruth Johnson addressed the promotion and consented to meet Melissa’s mother at the eatery where she worked, yet she won’t ever appear. According to the family, the babysitter picked up Melissa from her roommate at their East Seminary Drive apartment while Apantenco was at work. Melissa’s mother had hired her.
According to the family, Apantenco hired the babysitter without meeting face-to-face because she was a single mother who feared losing her job.
The roommate told the police that the woman who picked up Melissa, who went by the name Ruth Johnson and was dressed to impress, had a nice appearance and was wearing white gloves.
Know How Was Melissa Discovered By Her Family?
Jeffrie Highsmith, Melissa’s father, submitted his DNA to 23andMe, a website that allows users to locate relatives and construct a family tree. A DNA trial of Melanie Brown, who likewise went by Melanie Walden, was finished and affirmed she is Melissa Highsmith, he composed.
The family worked with Lisa Jo Schiele, a clinical lab researcher and beginner genealogist, who assisted them with understanding the DNA results and examination freely available reports to track down their missing girl, as per an assertion from the family.
Schiele stated, that this was not the most difficult genealogy puzzle she has ever solved and that she trusted what she does gives different families the certainty to do likewise. Melissa rejoined with her folks and two of her four kin interestingly toward the end of the week after Thanksgiving in 2022.
Victoria Garner, Melissa’s sister, wrote in a Facebook post that she couldn’t stop crying. She added that she was thrilled that she was strolling around in a haze attempting to grasp that her sister was directly before her.
Melissa Highsmith Finally Reunited With Her Family
In posts on a Facebook page titled “We FOUND MELISSA!!!,” Melissa’s family said that that they had no idea that their family’s mssing member had been kidnapped.
Family members have stated that they are unaware of the person’s whereabouts after taking Melissa as a baby. Growing up, Melissa Highsmith thought the one who raised her was her mom, she said. That wasn’t true, and she was shocked to learn that.
“My entire life was false,” Melissa told the Star-Message at a convention for cold cases Saturday in Stronghold Worth. They claimed that she was Japanese, but she was not, Melissa said about the family who raised her after she was captured.
She stated that her upbringing was not happy. She claimed that she fled when she was 15 and worked the streets to survive, describing her home life as abusive. Melissa told the Star-Telegram that she did not have a relationship with the people who raised her for 17 years after running away from home.
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