Representational image. News 18 Hindi
People who live outside their homes, away from their families, certainly know the feeling of meeting their loved ones after a long time. We have seen a number of Bollywood movies based on the emotion driven by the family reunion after a prolonged detachment. But, this type of occurrence can also be encountered in real life. Recently, a heart-touching incident of a woman in the United States reuniting with her family after as many as 51 years has come to light. From her kidnapping to finding her biological parents, the entire story was shared through a video on the official Instagram page of Good News Movement.
The woman identified as Melissa Highsmith was abducted as a toddler by a babysitter back in 1971 in Texas. She was taken away from her family when she was just 21 months old. As her memory did not grow properly, she was unaware of her actual identity, but things turned out to be clear in her teenage years. The babysitter named Patricia Sugar Lewis posed to be her mother and raised her.
According to Melissa, she often used to ask Lewis about her childhood. In reply, Lewis never revealed the truth. She informed her that Melissa was bought for $500 from the street. Since it was very shocking for her, the teenager went on to find the reality.
Following some kind of miracle, the 53-year-old finally succeeded in locating her biological parents – Jeffrie Highsmith and Alta Alpantenco. In the clip, Melissa can be seen hugging her mother with tears in both of their eyes in an emotionally charged moment. Her father informed her about the brothers and sisters she never met. As per the caption of the post, Melissa currently is a big sister of four younger siblings including 3 sisters and 1 brother.
Since being dropped on the internet, the Instagram reel has earned nearly 3 million views. The heartwarming sight has garnered more than 1.9 lakh likes so far. Users were left stunned assuming the horrific experience Melissa had during those 51 years far from her own family.
An overwhelmed viewer stated, “Such a blessing both parents are still here.” Another user noted, “I can’t begin to imagine the sheer pain this family has gone through for 51 years. No parent should have to endure this kind of heartache.” A mother shared, “This is so painful to watch. I can’t imagine losing my baby and not knowing her for 50 years.”
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