Two sisters, adopted into different families, found each other after 35 years of separation.
While Ashley Brown and Laurinda Collado were born in the Dominican Republic to the same biological parents, they were adopted into two separate families based in the states.
When Collado was five months old, she was adopted and raised as an only child in the United States. Two years later, her sister Brown was born and adopted by a family at six weeks old in Barbados and later moved to Niagara Falls, Ontario.
They were made aware of each other’s existence as teenagers, but had no idea where the other was. Collado said they spent years looking for each other.
“Since I found out about her existence, I immediately went into the search, trying to go to adoption websites and anything I could to try to find her,” she told CP24 on Friday. “I spent about 17 years trying to find her.”
It wasn’t until MyHeritage.com launched a new initiative called “DNA Quest” that the search took a turn for the better. The program aimed to reunite adoptees with their biological family through a free at-home DNA test.
“I wrote them my story and I was selected and they sent me a DNA test back and I had a few hits and then one day someone popped up and said it could be my sister or my aunt,” Brown said as she sat near Collado in her home of Niagara Falls.
“It was absolutely amazing. It was very surreal. Lots of tears of joy and disbelief. It was just so remarkable to be able to, even before we met in person, just go over the same things that we have in common,” Collado added.
The sisters spent months talking to each other on the phone and social media before meeting in person in Niagara Falls three years ago. They are currently meeting for the second time in person since the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It’s a long time coming for sure. We talk every day via video chat and to finally be able to sit next to her and touch her and see her, it’s a great feeling,” Collado said.
“We’ve really developed such an incredibly strong bond in the three years since we’ve known each other now and we’re like best friends.”
Collado, who had been searching for her biological family for some time, had actually found them all before finding Brown. She said she was able to introduce the Browns to their biological father, grandmother, two other brothers, a sister and a half-brother, all living in the Dominican Republic.
Their biological mother died six months before the sisters were reunited. Their father passed away recently. The sisters said the loss of their parents brought the two sisters even closer.
“It feels like a dream come true. It really does. Growing up and knowing that you have a sibling somewhere, especially in my case, growing up as an only child, I really had that extra longing to try to find her,” Collado said.
“The feeling is just amazing. I still pinch myself every day. I find myself just looking at her and feeling like I can’t believe I’m finally looking at her.
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