This story begins with a message my daughter, Lynda, received from someone assisting her friend Barbie in locating her father. Barbie has a DNA connection to Lynda’s paternal side. Barbie has not seen or heard from her father since she was two years old; she is now 33, and her mother has refused assistance. I promptly called Barbie to gather information about what she knew. Barbie sent me her birth certificate to verify the details she had provided. She also mentioned she had obtained a video documenting the first and only time she met her father’s family. I suggested she sit down and note any names she heard in the video, and take screenshots of the individuals featured in it. Additionally, she sent a photo her parents had taken while her mother was pregnant. With details about her father, Frank, her grandfather, Raffaele, and others mentioned—Nancy, Jennifer, and Julianne—I began searching.

Locating people can be a challenge. There are so many things to consider if they are living. Have they remarried? Have they had children? What circumstances led them to leave? Is their partner willing to accept a child from the past? When the person you are looking for has died, it will bring on a whole new set of issues. The who, what, when, where’s, and how’s that will never be answered. ***Spoiler Alert: This story has a happy ending!

I asked Barbie to give me access to her DNA because it allows me to see her closest DNA connections. Barbie and Lynda are 3rd cousins. I hoped for a closer connection with a linked DNA tree, but there wasn’t one.

The next step was to search for persons identified in the video connected with the surname “Ruf***o”, bingo! This is great! I then searched on Facebook and I made family connections. Barbie wanted me to reach out, and I did.

I left a voicemail on the only phone number I found for Frank, and sent several Messenger messages to Frank. I also included a photo of the day Barbie met her grandfather, Raffaele. I expected God would intercede; I prayed God would help Barbie connect with her dad.

I’ve learned so much about research from so many different sources. Maureen Taylor, The Photo Detective, is one of those sources, and I’m a big fan. I’ve learned how to identify people by looking closely at the details in photos.

Frank looks just like his dad, Raffaele.

Sunday, five days after our first conversation, Barbie and her dad had a long-awaited conversation. It’s an Easter Miracle! I received this message from Barbie.

I received this message from Frank.

I’m so happy to be a small part of connecting families.

This photo of Barbie has been on Frank’s desk for a very, very long time.

Until Next Time,

Lilly Resto Gunderman

PuertoRicoAncestry.org