In Focus

My long lost cousin has been found!

A few weeks ago I posted on social media that I was looking for my cousin who had been estranged from our family. Her mother went into hiding because my “uncle” was abusive. We don’t blame them. They did what had to be done for their safety. The “uncle” has since passed away.

I had received a private message from someone who had an Ancestry account and found some information on my cousin and her mother. I took the information and Googled it and found three phone numbers under the name given to me. My mom called all three numbers and left a message explaining the situation.

This last Friday, my cousin called back...

I got a friend request on social media from the name I had Googled. I was in shock and called my mother. Well, mom called me and added me into a conference call with my aunt and my long lost cousin! It was so great to talk to her and get to know a little about her.

She lives out in Washington state, not far from a relative, and has two adult boys. It turns out she had been looking for us, too! Her mother had a terrible injury at one point and couldn’t remember much about our family to help her track us down. Her last name was changed as a child when her mother remarried and she was adopted by her new father. We figured as much considering the situation. She was elated to know she has two aunts, an uncle and two cousins!

Now we are working on meeting each other. I am so excited and happy we found her. The power of social media does work along with the kindness of random strangers helping to connect long lost family. Thank you all for your help.