After 35 Years, Woman Adopted To U.S. In Midst Of War Meets Biological Mom

A woman adopted from El Salvador to the United States as a baby shared a tearful hug with her biological mother when she finally managed to track her down 35 years later. Anita Hughson, 36, who now lives in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, never knew her biological mom as she was adopted from El Salvador at the height of the Salvadorian Civil War at just 10 months old. Anita's adoptive parents, a French mother and a Jewish father, requested a meeting with Anita's biological mom before they took Anita to the U.S., reassuring her they would provide for her daughter. Of her short time in El Salvador, Anita only knew her mom's name and that she’d been a very poor domestic worker, who had been the sole provider to a family that included at least two sons. Having gone through college and a career in the military that took her overseas, Anita kept wondering about her biological family, while also being somewhat scared of finding out the definitive truth. But then, one day she decided to put any fears to one side and explore Ancestry and 23andMe – with one of the websites finding a "close" relative who was linked to Anita's great aunt. Despite Anita reaching out soon after, she did not receive a message back for around two years when her cousin Carlos' wife, Marla, reached out – and things began to move quickly.

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