Influencer Elizabeth Hunterton, 48, went viral on social media when she told in detail how she found her biological mother after she was abandoned as a newborn at an airport in Washoe County, Nevada, in the United States. United States.
In a story full of twists and turns and worthy of a movie script, the woman began a series of investigations and found five possible options for birth mothers before finding the real one.
The influencer, who was elected Miss Nevada in 2004, began the video by revealing to her followers: “When I was a newborn I was abandoned at the airport and in two and a half weeks I will meet my birth mother.”
The model explained that it all started with the search for her biological father through a website that provides genetic testing services. “The search for my biological father was simple, easy, quick. It took me a total of 5 days, from start to finish.”
Within days, the platform connected her with her biological uncle, who spoke to each other on the phone. “I wasn’t expecting that. I called my biological uncle and he said, ‘Oh, my dear niece. That’s that thing you see in movies, but you don’t expect it to come to a theater near you.’ And I said, ‘This is exactly what it looks like.'”
In the conversation with her uncle, the former Miss found out that her father had died in 2004 – the same year she won her crown. “The thing he wanted more than anything was a biological child. He adopted a son he loved, but my uncle told me that more than anything, his unfulfilled wish was to have a biological child. And it’s sad, because he had one, but he didn’t know about me.”
The search for the biological mother
While finding the father was easy, the search for the mother was a saga. “The search for my birth mother… That’s where things get really crazy.”
In March 2020, at the start of the pandemic, Elizabeth received a notification from the genetic testing service website indicating that she had found a second cousin on her mother’s side.
Surprised to learn that someone in her mother’s family had put her DNA on the site, she immediately contacted her cousin and began a deep search using obituaries, public records and birth certificates, creating a family tree with 32 members.
First Choice of
Mother With the names in hand, Elizabeth eliminated those who could not be her biological mother. When he came up with the final name, he found out that the woman had died in 2013. The woman was 31 years old and had an established career, which surprised Elizabeth, who imagined a mother in difficulty. Even more shockingly, the woman had two other children 12 years after abandoning her.
Second Choice of Mother
Elizabeth decided to contact the family of the deceased, but chose not to involve the newfound half-siblings. So he contacted the woman’s nephew, who responded warmly but wanted to confirm the safety of Elizabeth’s research, suggesting a new investigation focusing on mitochondrial DNA.
This led Elizabeth to a second possible birth mother. “When I saw her picture, it felt like I was looking in the mirror. If I were only Japanese, we’d be twins,” she said. She found out that the woman was 14 years old when Elizabeth was born, which saddened her to imagine the situation at the time.
Upon contacting the second option, Elizabeth discovered that she was not his mother, but gained a friend for life. “She offered me support and said, ‘If your birth mother isn’t proud of you, I’ll be here,'” he recalled.
New Discoveries and the Third Choice of Mother
During the conversation with the second option, Elizabeth learned of a younger aunt, leading to further investigations. It turned out that this aunt had a daughter, who was 18 when Elizabeth was found at the airport. The woman lived a very private life, but Elizabeth managed to find her.
When he got in touch, he found out he wasn’t the right person. “My heart broke. For my life narrative to make sense, she had to be lying. But I believed her,” he said.
After
eliminating options 2 and 3, Elizabeth spent five months believing that the first option was her mother. However, a new email from the site in question brought a new connection that made this hypothesis impossible.
He completed a new family tree and found a new clue. The help of her friend, now convinced to help, led Elizabeth to discover Mary Smith, a cousin of her father, whose two daughters became new biological mother options.
Options 4 and 5 of Birth Mothers
Elizabeth looked at the sisters’ graduation book, initially believing that option 4 was her mother. He discovered that she had always had short hair, incompatible with the reports of abandonment. Option 5, a nurse-midwife at the time, had Elizabeth theorizing about a possible kidnapping.
He contacted birth mother number 5 and found out that his mother was option 4. Her daughter confirmed that her birth mother hadn’t spoken about it in decades. The family met to discuss the issue and discovered that Elizabeth was born in a hospital but was mistakenly registered.
The twist
None of the sisters abandoned Elizabeth at the airport. Emily, the birth mother, was deceived by a friend who promised to give Elizabeth up for adoption but abandoned her. “She spent 40 years tormented by the worst-case scenario,” her cousin said.
Emily’s first email was affectionate: “I knew this day would come.” She explained that she couldn’t afford to take care of her daughter, so she gave her to her friend. Elizabeth opened up about the pain of thinking about being abandoned by her birth mother. “All the headlines were wrong. It wasn’t my birth mother who abandoned me, but she paid the price.”
After the meeting, Elizabeth shared the experience on social media. “It was tricky, but I’m glad I did. I’ll probably see my birth mother again. We won’t have a perfect relationship, but I’m fine.”
At the meeting, Emily expressed gratitude to Elizabeth’s adoptive mother, and she replied that she has always had love and compassion for her birth mother.
Emily explained that, living under a strict Japanese culture, she knew she couldn’t offer Elizabeth the life she deserved. “More than ever, I’m grateful to have two mothers who loved me, and I am who I am because of them,” Elizabeth concluded.
