While Ashleigh Brown and Laurinda Collado were both born in the Dominican Republic to the same biological parents, they were adopted into two separate families separately.
When Collado was five months old, she was adopted and raised as an only child in the U.S. Two years later, her sister Brown was born and adopted to a family at six weeks old in Barbados, and later moved to Niagara Falls, Ont.
They became aware of each other’s existence as teenagers, but had no idea where the other was.  Collado said they spent years looking for each other.
“Since I found out about her existence, I immediately started looking, trying to get on adoption websites and anything I could to find her,” he told CP24 on Friday.  “I spent about 17 years trying to find her.”
It wasn’t until MyHeritage.com launched a new initiative called ‘DNA Quest’ that the search took a turn for the better.  The program aimed to reunite adoptees with their biological family through a free at-home DNA test.
“I wrote them my story and they picked me and they sent me a DNA test back and I had a few hits and then one day someone came up and said it could have been my sister or my aunt,” Brown said while sitting down.  near Collado at her home in Niagara Falls.
“It was absolutely incredible.  It was very surreal.  Lots of tears of joy and disbelief.  It was just so remarkable to be able to, even before meeting in person, look at the same things we have in common,” Collado added.
The sisters spent months talking to each other via phone and social media, then met in person in Niagara Falls three years ago.  They are currently meeting for the second time in person following the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It’s been a long time for sure.  We talk every day via video chat and to finally be able to sit next to her and touch her and see her, it’s a great feeling,” Collado said.
“We’ve really developed such an incredibly strong bond over the three years we’ve known each other now and we’re like best friends.”
Collado, who had been searching for her biological family for some time, had found them all before finding Brown.  She said she was able to introduce Brown to their biological father, grandmother, two more brothers, a sister and half-brother who live in the Dominican Republic.
Their biological mother had died six months before the sisters were reunited.  Their father recently passed away.  The sisters said the loss of their parents has brought the two sisters even closer.
“It feels like a dream come true.  He really does.  Growing up and knowing that you have a brother out there, especially in my case, growing up as an only child, I really had that extra longing to try to find her,” Collado said.
“It’s just an absolutely amazing feeling.  I still pinch myself every day.  I catch myself looking at her and I feel like I can’t believe I’m finally looking at her.”