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It’s mind boggling to me that someone would jump through all the hoops of buying and concealing a child for 50 years if they’re not going to actually be a parent.
@Ivonne Quiroz you have
THE PPL THAT TOOK HER PROB BOUGHT FAKE DOCUMENTS AND A NEW NAME FOR HER. SHE WAS A BABY AFTER ALL SOO A NEW NAME WOULD STICK SOO SAD
I think person lying that said bought her,I believe person was kidnapper
What’s more, that the person who “purchased” Melissa wouldn’t have put more effort into providing an environment where Melissa would have felt loved, safe, and secure.
People are just evil!
I just sat and cried. As a mother I can’t begin to imagine the pain this family has endured. Thank God for such a happy ending. I wish them nothing but happiness for the future.
The most poignant aspect of this case to me is the cycle of misfortune occuring here. Alta’s mom giving her up led her to having an unstable adult life, which led in part to Melissa’s abduction. Then because of the unfortunate events that occured in Melissa’s life, all stemming from her kidnapping during her infancy, caused her to have to put her children up for adoption. It’s absolutely incredible the chain effect that circumstances from more than half a century ago have on the present here and now.
@Kayleigh much of my family is the same, men especially, and my dad was and continues to be abusive, manipulative, and narcissistic. lots of toxicity, unresolved conflict, and resentment there. still unpacking that trauma, unlearning the poor social skills and bad relationship etiquette i saw, absorbed, and imitated as a child, and teaching myself better, healthier ways. so i do understand. but we *can* be the change, we can break the cycles of abuse and dysfunction. i believe in us, and we deserve to make a better life for ourselves. you got this 🫶🏻
@Lily G generational curses and intergenerational trauma…she had a disadvantage from the very beginning. heartbreaking tbh.
I was thinking that as well. There are some similarities to my family. My mom’s grandmother had 2 daughters and left them. My mom’s mother (one of the two abandoned daughters) left my mom and her 3 sisters when they were little. One of my mom’s sisters (my aunt) left her children when they were babies. Apparently, women abandoning their kids runs in my family lol
this is very inciteful. generational curses and trauma at its finest.
Alta was given up for adoption at a very young age & did not have the love of a mother; ultimately, she struggled with how to care for a child, I believe. There are more questions left to be answered. And it is up to Melanie/Melissa to decide how to move forward. Was the person who took her the person who raised her? Or was that person the one who sold her? Was Melissa actually kidnapped more than once? Once by the person in gloves? And then when she was sold, is that also considered a kidnapping?
I hope Melissa writes a book on her life. What a crazy story. My heart hurts for her all the trauma she and her bio family went through for someone else’s selfish gain. For $500?! It’s sickening.
Definitely. Need to know more about her life
I hope that big void in all of them is filled now & they can all start healing
Agreed 😔
The fact that the person who raised her KNEW is absolutely disgusting. It’s also disgusting that she purchased a child and still didn’t give that child the best life possible! I’m so glad this was solved. I really hope this opens up the possibility to find the person who actually took her and maybe even the ring that may have more children hidden.
It’s infuriating! It’s like this person bought a puppy off some random person and after a while got tired of it! 🤯
@lona manlpu If she was in the same state, she might actually get away with it. If this case is federal, there is a better chance, as there is no federal statute of limitation for kidnapping. She sure deserves prison.
There is a story I can tell you, you’d never believe it’s true. But it is. And that’s the most terrifying part of all.
I’m betting that when she bought Melissa she didn’t know she was a missing child but then realized after seeing the fliers and news reports that she infact bought Melissa.
Times were different back then people would leave unwanted babies on porch steps so when she was offered to have the baby for $500 I’m betting that she didn’t k own the child was kidnapped.
@Robyn Ruhd , but Melissa said her “adoptive” mother KNEW all along, but chose not to ever say anything. She quite possibly might have actually been the babysitter & just made up the “buying” her story
The person who bought her and says she knew she was baby Melissa should also be held responsible… So glad this story had a happy ending after all these years though!
The statute of limitations ran out 20 years after her 18th birthday. There’s nothing they can do as of yet
@SeaChelle which makes it all the more infuriating!
@Florence Papaeftimiou I agree
I think the person will be found and held responsible. If Melissa ended up alive and reunited after all these years theres a same level of hope towards justice.
Human trafficking is a huge problem right now….especially because of the open borders we have that encourage it.
I felt so sorry for Melissa, she got kidnapped and the family raised her was awful. I am so happy she found her biological family.
She was abducted just to be sold on the street for a measly $500?! Her entire life was ruined for $500?!?! That’s insane.
@Aperture Movement a million 😂 it’s about 3K 💀
@Aperture Movement no where near $1mil
@Rat they’re joking because someone else guessed a million even though it was already said that it was $3,600
@Carolyn Choate – Funnel Queen they were not joking. Literally nothing suggests that.
@Aperture Movement lmao. No. Wtf. Use your brain. 💀
*_Statute of Limitation_* → it seems unfair that a deadline could pass, while the crime is not even revealed. Like, if Melissa _just found out_ after all of these years, that she was abducted, you would think that the *LAW* would begin _when the crime is revealed._ So, Melissa’s parent who raised her after abduction, would face justice, and the time statute would begin upon the moment the crime is discovered.
The Highsmiths hope to get the chance to challenge that law ❤️
@A A agreed, she has no remorse. If charges were brought on her, she might give up valuable information for a lesser sentence?
Seems the crime is ongoing. Limitation should not have started.
100%
THIS!
It’s amazing that she and her parents are all still alive to see the resolution of this case. The parents didn’t die without ever finding their daughter like I’m sure the majority do, and she was found alive and well. Good for them.
in my opinion, the lady who bought Melissa should automatically be seen as “involved” in this case. she may not have been involved in the abduction but she bought a child & knowing all these years that Melissa was bought & sold which are crimes in itself but happy she was able to be reunited with her family!💓truly a miracle!
Why don’t they investigate who she bought the baby from? I bet it was the babysitter.
Unfortunately, selling children wasn’t that unusual back in the day, in the depression era, it happened all the time
@Lisa Torch not in the times that this happened (the 60s). No way was it illegal or acceptable to sell a child. Back in the day, when that actually did happen, people didn’t sneak around and hide it like what happened in this case.
This happened in 1971… NOT anywhere near the depression. The depression was about 50 years earlier.
@Katrina Miller I’m totally aware of when the story happened. I was just stating, it DID happen often, back in the depression era. Even now you occasionally hear of addicts trying to sell their children for a fix. My point was, it did & does happen
The story is amazing! So often, when a missing child is reunited with the birth family after 30, 40 years or more, it’s bittersweet because the parents and/or older siblings have already passed. This story is special and so unique because, eve.after 51 years, Melissa’s entire immediate family is still alive and able to meet their daughter and sister!
I was almost taken from the hospital after I was born. This woman was dressed like a nurse and she wanted to take me from my mom to “run tests” on me. But my dad told her no that I was about to be fed and he can bring me to the nurse station when I was done. He brought me up there and the real nurses were confused as to why my dad brought me up. He let them know what happened and they ended up doing a lineup of the nurses on that day and he didn’t recognize her. I can’t even imagine where I would’ve ended up if my dad didn’t speak up and told her no. This was in ’92
@Crocheting Canuck that’s definitely the way it should be.
Even if the nurse is legit and really does want to be running tests, they should never be allowed to do that without a parent present. God only knows what they want to do to your child under those circumstances. Lol When I was born, and clearly a girl, the nurse insisted on taking me to be circumcised and argued with my mother about it. Thankfully, she was adamant because that nurse was stupid enough to change a child’s body for cosmetic reasons, just because of the genitalia the child was born with, on top of arguing with the very mother about the child’s sex. One nurse also pushed my head down in my bassinet because I raised it to look around (not uber common, but not unheard of). My mom said it was like “You can’t do that yet *push*” SMH. All medical staff need to be observed and held accountable.
@MISSYMINX261 the first thing that came to my mind.
Have mercy!!
This story sounds fake. 😂
The fact that the woman who bought her knew who she was the entire time and never said a word even after she was a grown adult is so sad. I’m just happy that both her bio parents and all her siblings were alive to finally meet her after all these years. God is good…and bless everyone who was involved in bringing her home
It’s more than sad, it’s criminal. She bought a child off the street. She should be in prison.
@Mathieu I have said the same thing
So True. She must be an extra special kind of evil to keep a secret like that
Statute of limitations always angers me in cases like these. There should be no time limit put on how this individual destroyed Melissa and her family’s lives 😞 very happy they all got to reunite though ❤
I agree with you.
She looks alot like her mother, and im so so glad the parents are still alive for the news and to be able to put the mystery to rest.
It is so heartwarming listening to Jeff talk about how he feels it was his life’s work to find his older sister. So sweet💕
There are currently some audio issues going on on YouTube’s side. I have put in a request for help. Sorry for the inconvenience!
Sounds fine to me 🙂
@Kendall – Are you wearing Blue Lace Agate crystal in your chain?
Nice vdaio
11¹⁹
Heads up that the audio here 19:30 is buggy still 🤗
The decision to change her name back to her birth name really moved me. After living her entire life with another name? She must feel so whole to be with her true family.
I felt so sorry for Melissa
i like it
nice
Nice
Good
👍 good