QUINCY, ILL. -- We've all heard of Facebook and its ability to connect people with others from both your past and present. But for one Tri-State family, it was a turning point in an adoption that took place 20 years ago. As this family explains, one friend request led to more than they could have ever asked for.
"A little over twenty years ago, I had my son. And I kept him for a year and a half. He's mixed race, his father's black, and twenty years ago, it just wasn't acceptable. People were very mean," said Melissa Loos.
Melissa says her son James became the center of many death threats. Her family moved three different times, but the threats followed.
"I felt the only way to keep him safe was to let him go, which was very hard. It broke my heart," said Loos.
Twenty years have since passed and Melissa's family has grown, but for Melissa, it was never quite complete without James. That all changed about two weeks ago.
"I got a call from my sister-in-law who said someone was trying to contact me through Facebook. Her name was Crystal, James' fiance. She found me on Facebook. It was amazing," said Loos.
"I was in bed, and she called me at almost 11, and was crying. She said, 'I found your brother!' And we were all really excited. That really woke me up," said Trisha Stinson, Melissa's daughter.
Now at 22, James is engaged and living in Mississippi. Throughout his life, James says he's never held a grudge against the mother who gave him away.
"I didn't ask a lot of questions. It never really was explained but it didn't need to be.I was at peace with that. I was given up for adoption. I figured it had to be a good reason, because nobody's going to give up their child if it's not a real reason," said James Bethel.
"I knew my mom had tried to find him a couple times, but we didn't have any luck. It's just amazing that Facebook found us," said Stinson.
"I'm not one to cry a whole lot, but after I found who I was looking for, I was just distraught for a few days," said Bethel.
"I remember the first time we talked on the phone. I couldn't talk very long because I was crying," said Loos.
A week later, James boarded a train to Quincy to meet his biological family.
"It's just been amazing. And never again will the ignorance of other people keep me away from my son," said Loos.
James has just one word to describe this experience. Happy.
TV Station Profiles & Public Inspection Files forKHQA