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Brothers spend four decades looking for sister put up for adoption

Posted at 4:22 PM, Aug 25, 2018
and last updated 2018-08-25 16:22:38-04

MYSTIC, CT (WFSB) — Two brothers from Mystic, Connecticut, learned at a young age they had a sister somewhere, out there.

Their mom had her before the brothers were born and gave her up for adoption in 1951.

“Our mother always had June 11, it just said ‘happy birthday,’” said Doug Barnes of Waterford.

Doug was in high school when his mom told him about his older sister June.

“She says ‘it happened before I met your father, but I would love to meet her one day,’” said Doug.

His brother, Paul, says their mom was only 17 when she gave birth to a baby girl and put her up for adoption in 1951.

The brothers made it their goal to find her.

“I found out the records from 1951 were destroyed in a fire and I thought I reached a dead end,” said Paul Barnes of Salem.

Their mom passed away five years ago never having met “June,” but the brothers always had their sister in their hearts.

“We didn’t even know if she was still alive or where she was,” said Paul.

This past Christmas, Doug got an Ancestry DNA kit and it turns out, down in Florida, their sister did too.

“I was reluctant because I wouldn’t know what I would find. I didn’t know if some people would be receptive or rejecting or I just didn’t know,” said Janet Pollock of St. Augustine, FL.

“I went in and I looked and Janet was at the top. I knew she was my sister. We spent 45 years looking for her,” Doug said.

“When he explained it to me and then he sent me the picture, it’s our mom,” Paul said.

Doug went down to Florida to meet his sister Janet for the first time.

“He walked in the front door, and walked into his arms and looked into his eyes I said I’m looking at myself. I’m looking in my own eyes,” Pollock said.

On Thursday, Pollock met Paul for the first time in Connecticut.

On Friday, in Mystic, they shared an instant bond between brothers and sister.

“Do I regret never having met my mother? Absolutely, but I will know her and know her love through them. Absolutely,” Pollock said.

After decades of being apart, the two brothers and sister say they have a lot of catching up to do. They even already made plans to be together for Christmas.

“Mom orchestrated this from heaven. It was the time. It was the place. It had to be. It was her dream. It was her dream,” said Paul.