A woman has returned to her real family after over 50 years.
Fort Worth police officers confirmed the identity of a woman on May 4 who had been kidnapped from her family as a child.
Melissa Highsmith, 53, was just 22 months old when she was kidnapped from her childhood home in Fort Worth in 1971. The alleged kidnapper was an unknown woman who had responded to an ad to be the Highsmiths’ babysitter.
Two weeks after her disappearance, her mother, Alta Highsmith, wrote a letter to her daughter’s kidnapper begging for her safe return or to be at least notified that she was unharmed. This kidnapper, however, never responded to these pleas.
“I’ve pleaded with you so many times before on television, radio and by the papers. So far you have not even tried to call,” said Alta Highsmith in the letter, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
“I’m begging you again for the return of my little girl. You must realize that I’ve been going out of my mind with worry, wondering where my baby is and how she’s doing,” she continued.
Melissa’s family continued to search for her over the many decades she has been missing.
Jeff Highsmith, Melissa’s brother, established a Facebook page called “Finding Melissa” in 2018, documenting efforts and sensitive details of his family’s search to find his missing sister.
In 2022, the family announced that they had found her after over 50 years. Melissa had been living in Fort Worth under a different name the entire time.
The Highsmiths had used DNA testing to verify that the woman was Melissa. Family members were understandably hesitant about the testing, given that tests with six other women had come back negative.
“Every time my mother got her hopes up. After 51 years, she didn’t want to submit another DNA test. She was tired and she was hurt and guilty from carrying this all these years,” said Victoria Highsmith, Melissa’s sister, according to NBC DFW.
“I’m thankful that we got her to agree to submit her DNA. It is because of that, and my dad submitting, that we were able to find Melissa,” she continued.
Following Melissa’s confirmed identity from the Fort Worth Police Department (FWPD), the department issued a statement saying that they hoped this result would give the family closure.
Victoria Highsmith, however, expressed disappointment in how the FWPD has handled this decades-old missing persons case, saying that she was “shaking her head” at the department’s performance.
“… [Y]ou did a horrible job how you handled the case you had several leads and did not follow up on them,” said Highsmith in a Facebook post. “We did your job for you. Out of 1000 cold cases only 2 have been solved, and my sisters [sic] was one of those,” she continued.
