Melissa Highsmith, missing for 51 years, found in Fort Worth

FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) — It was an early Christmas miracle for a Fort Worth family. A woman who disappeared more than five decades ago was found in Fort Worth this week, her family announced Sunday.

Melissa Highsmith went missing when she was kidnapped by a babysitter from her parents’ Fort Worth home in 1971. She was 22 months old at the time of her disappearance.

For the next 51 years, Highsmith’s family and police diligently searched for her, even following up on recent tips about possible sightings in North Carolina.

However, in the end, Melissa was found living in Fort Worth under the name Melanie Walden.

Melissa and her family. We found Melissa via Facebook

Highsmiths say the DNA test results were key to their relationship with Melissa.

Sharon Highsmith wrote on Facebook: “The fact that we found Melissa is purely due to DNA and not any police or FBI involvement, podcast involvement or even investigations or speculation about our family’s right to privacy.”

Melissa’s parents met her for the first time in more than five decades on Saturday.

Melissa Highsmith, center, with her parents in Fort Worth on November 26, 2022. We found Melissa via Facebook

Make up for lost time

After 51 years of separation, Melissa and her family are making up for lost time and getting to know each other.

“It’s good to see what I looked like as a kid,” Melissa said as she sat next to her parents, looking at pictures she’d never seen before.

Melissa, now 53, is reunited with her parents for the first time since she was kidnapped when she was 22 months old.

“It’s overwhelming, but at the same time, it’s the best feeling in the world,” says Melissa.

Her mother, Atla Apantencl, is still handling it all. “I couldn’t believe it. I thought I’d never see her again.”

Jeffrie Highsmith, her father, recalled the moment he heard that his daughter had been found. “They said ‘Dad, she’s alive’ and I started crying… after 51 years, it was emotional.”

The family spent years searching for Melissa and her disappearance haunted them for decades, but it wasn’t until September of this year that the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received word. newspaper saw her in Charleston, South Carolina.

That tip ultimately didn’t work out, but it brought Melissa’s story into the spotlight nationally and empowered the family to keep looking.

Ultimately, DNA testing from 23AndMe connected Melissa’s children to their families. When her family contacted her on Facebook, Melissa initially thought it was a scam. “My dad texted me on messenger and he said to me: ‘You know what, I’ve been looking for my daughter for 51 years’.”

All this time, Melissa never knew her real family was looking for her.

“My foster parent, I asked her ‘Is there something you want to tell me?’ and it was confirmed that she knew I was baby Melissa so it came true,” Melissa said.

She then agrees to take a DNA test, and on Thanksgiving she is reunited with her brother and parents.

magic vacation

Apantencl said it was the best day of her life. Her brother, Jeff Highsmith, said it was “a dream come true.”

Melissa’s younger sister, Victoria, was also overjoyed to see a sister she had never met. “I’m so grateful to have her back,” she said. “Welcome back sissy, welcome to the family.”

Melissa said she felt love from a family she had never known but had never come this far. She spent most of her life in Fort Worth. “My heart is full and bursting with so many emotions right now. I’m really, really happy.” She said that she plans to change her name back to Melissa.

So far, no information has been released about her kidnapper.

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