RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) – Sharon Crickmar grew up in Binghamton, New York, with her parents and brother.
“They sat both of us down, and they waited until I was a little older before they told him,” said Crickmar.
That’s when Crickmar learned she and her brother were adopted from two different families.
“We always wondered, I think he and I both did, who was out there. Are they out there? Will we ever find them?” said Crickmar.
Despite the challenges of a closed adoption system in New York, Sharon’s determination never wavered. She kept running into roadblocks, but she never gave up hope.
“The problem in New York is that any adoptions from the 70s were sealed,” she explained, but she was undeterred.
So, she signed up for 23andMe, hoping to mainly learn more about her genetic history. That’s when she got the surprise of a lifetime on Nov. 30, 2023.
“I got results saying I had a mom match, and I almost fell on the floor,” said Crickmar.
And a few days prior, Shirley Bendeck, 1,300 miles away in Lubbock, Texas, still wondered if the child she gave up for adoption would ever find her.