With the ease of the internet, most of the things are literally at our fingertips. Except, sometimes, finding what we are looking for can actually take a long time, especially when it involves a missing person. One younger brother always felt like something was missing in his life throughout, which prompted him to search for his older sister who he had never even met. The process of finding her was a lengthy one, but one that proved to be well worth it…

Just like all other days, Steve Inman and his wife Donna were in bed, but Steve was still awake. Like most nights he thought of the incident that had struck his family a long time ago. He spent some time wondering if he was ready to go down the memory lane and then decided to go there even if he wasn’t, it was an incident he should not be allowed to forget.

Opening A Box

Inside his closet, in his current residence in Fontana California, kept safely was a box of old family photographs which Steve decided to explore, again. On top of that, he found a picture of his younger self and he could not contain the involuntary smile that graced his face as he noticed that his son had the same round ears as he did years back, even their lips were similarly shaped. But that wasn’t the reason why he opened the album.

In the album, Steve rediscovered the old pictures of his mother, how she was as a young girl and woman in South Korea. Then came the picture of his elder sister settled in a meadow, who was no longer a part of the family, who was not there with them even before he was born. She was 8 months old in the picture. Where was she now, was she even alive?

Won’t Give Up

Steve thought of employing a private investigator to look for his sister but just the first installment for it was of $30,000, Steve Jr. could not afford it. He was advised by his father who had abandoned their family long ago, to just give up his search but Steve Jr. refused to. He used to type his sister’s name in the search engine but then he realized that Nanny might have changed her name.

All Resorts

As he went oven dozens of scenarios in his head, Steve realized how much the internet had been flourishing and he typed Sally’s name into google search engines. He thought there was no way he would find her online because the nanny probably changed her name. Still, Steve sent emails to news stations and even wrote to Oprah, but he had no luck.

The night he was going through the albums, he was 33. Life had moved on but the thought of Sally always remained. He had an idea. He read many stories about people who had been united with their loved ones after they searched for them on Facebook. So Steve Jr. decided to put up a Facebook page in the name of his lost sister. The response was quite disappointing initially.

Fateful Sunday

In an interview with the Pasadena Star News Steve observed, “It was like a normal day, laying around watching the Food Network… and then the phone rang.” Steve let it go to voicemail as the number was unknown. When he heard the voicemail he thought it was another prank but it turned out to be a life-changing call. Steve called back and the woman picked up, she passed the call to her mother who said, “Is this Steve? This is Sally.” Steve’s heart was fluttering with anticipation but he also was apprehensive somewhere, as if reading his mind, the woman continued, “I have those same pictures,” and all Steve could think of was whether he should trust this woman or not.

Virtual Reality

The family decided to have a Video call before they could meet each other. They just could not wait. The Internet brought about another reunion. When the three siblings got on the Skype call they were overwhelmed and surprised. Steve felt that it was, “like looking into a mirror.” But now after 37 years, it was time for the family to meet.

Steve Jr. and Connie arranged for their eldest sister and three of them to fly down to California to meet the family. Their mother was there too. The newly reunited family spent a week together in Fontana. They all naturally gelled together, it just proved that they shared the same blood. Sally got emotional and said,  “I don’t want these few days to ever end.”

Happily Ever After

They are a complete family now. Sally’s absence on Christmas is no longer felt as the family gets together with all the family members. They meet each other many times in a year. Sally said in the interview with Pasadena Star News, “A big void has been filled.”

The cons of the Internet are unending but it has also proved to be a positive place and the reunion of this family is one of many happy endings that the internet has brought about.