After uncovering the information about Jane's father, I attempted to locate her uncles. I tried a variety of methods and came up with several addresses and phone numbers, but whenever I called them, I kept reached those annoying recordings that explain that the telephone line had been disconnected.
While I was attempting to trace her father's brothers, Jane managed to locate an obituary for her father. She ran the names of the family members that were listed in it through various public search directories, but was unable to turn up any current information on any of them. She then forwarded the obituary to me, and asked me if there was anything I could do with it.
There were roughly ten people listed in the obituary as family members. I ran each of the names through the various databases I have access to and cross-referenced them with motor vehicle records. I expected to get a hit right away, but they either came back with little information or the information was outdated. I was getting to the end of the list when I ran the name for Jane's great aunt. I expected little to come of it, but was pleasantly surprised when it came back as a positive hit and with a recent address. There was, however, no contact phone number.
I took the address associated with the aunt, and entered it into a reverse directory, but it came back with no results. I then conducted a search of all male subjects with the same last name who lived in the same area. The database then spit out two matches and two phone numbers. I hoped one might be the aunt's husband, but was admittedly skeptical, as there was no telling whether Jane's great aunt would still be alive.
After thinking carefully about what I would say, I called the first number on the list. What sounded like an older woman answered the phone. When I asked to speak with Jane's aunt, the woman told me to please hold; a few moments later, she put what sounded like a much older woman on the phone. After explaining the situation to her and how I came to be involved – not a quick and easy thing to explain – the woman, who turned out to be Jane's aunt, expressed excitement over the fact that her nephew had a living daughter. She was overjoyed and she quickly jotted down the contact information for Jane. She even requested my own contact information and asked whether it would be ok for her to contact me later to let me know how it had all panned out. I agreed, gave her my information, and then I said my goodbye. I then quickly called Jane and told her to give her new family a call. I'll never forget the sound of joy that came through her voice when she thanked me for helping her. Then, yesterday, she sent me a very touching email, which read in part:
"I can't thank you enough for everything you have done for me. I truly appreciate it. I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I spent the whole night talking to my relatives … I am going to visit [my father's] grave and finally get to say goodbye. You have helped me in a way that nobody ever has. Thank you so much for bringing me family, and closure about my father's death. You are more than welcome to come meet all of us. We are now your family too."
As of this writing, I have not written my response to Jane. To be honest, I'm not sure what to say. Her one paragraph note is one of the most beautiful and heartfelt things I have ever received. Her words validated everything I have ever done in this line of work and made it all worthwhile. I can't begin to explain to you how much joy that brings to me.
I hope I can, someday, help another person like Jane. In the meantime, I have a reply I need to start working on…
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