Having a child is a beautiful experience for some. But sometimes kids are separated from their parents and siblings and it is almost impossible to imagine what a family would go through if that child was stolen from them, kidnapped.

It happened with a family and who came to their rescue after more than three decades? The answer is astonishing and hopeful. For 37 years,the family did not forget about their lost child and tried everything to get her back.

Reminiscing One Summer Night

Just like all other days, Steve Inman’s baby was 2 months old and his wife, Donna had taken him to bed, but Steve was still awake. Like most nights he thought of the tragedy 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 baby boy had the same round ears as he did, even their lips were similarly shaped. But that wasn’t the reason why he opened the album.

A Forgotten Face

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 disappeared even before he was born. She was 8 months old in the picture. Where was she now, was she even alive?

Bond That Could Have Been

He had not met her, ever. However, both their childhood pictures were similar. But he thought every day what it would have been like to have her in his life. It had been 37 years now since she was lost, he didn’t even know if she was still alive, and even if she was, he could not think of ways to find her. Where to start looking. She didn’t even know that she had a younger brother. Or did she?

How Did It All Happen?

An American soldier stationed in South Korea, Steve Inman Sr. fell in love with a Korean woman named Chum Ku Yi. After a small period of courtship, they got married. They were happy together and Chum got pregnant but when it was time to deliver her baby, they could not get to the base hospital soon enough. 

Sally

Since the couple could not get to the base hospital in time the delivery of the baby took place in a village called Chang-mal. The couple was happy with their baby girl, who was named Sally by them. They were settled in rural Korea for the time being and raised their daughter with the help of an old woman they thought they knew. But this went on only for 8 months.

Time To Go Back

Steve Inman Sr. wanted to return to his homeland now, to Salt Lake City, Utah to introduce his bride Chum and his cute infant daughter to his relatives and friends there and obviously start his new life with his family. But there were some official issues. Since Sally was not born in an American army base hospital she did not receive US citizenship automatically. What were the parents to do now? 

Home Alone

On top of that, the parents committed a slight mistake on Sally’s paperwork which concluded that neither the US nor the Korean governments considered Sally to be Steve’s legitimate daughter. The Inman family was suggested by their lawyer that they should take care of the legal work after returning to America and leave Sally behind, for the time being. 

But Who Will Look After Her?

Like any loving parents, Sally’s mom and dad were apprehensive about leaving their little one behind. But Chum’s mother dotted on Sally and she offered to take care of her granddaughter while the parents went to America to sort out the issues. Chum left her daughter in her mother’s care and flew to America in the hope that her daughter would soon be with them. 

One Problem After Another

Obstacles in bringing Sally home only intensified instead of decreasing. The US government, because of some bureaucratic issues did not allow Steve to claim Sally as his own daughter but recommended him to adopt her formally. Meanwhile, the grandmother back in Korea was taking care of Sally but it was too late now for her to be brought to America. 

 The Call

The process of adopting Sally was taking painstakingly long and was expensive. Chum made sure to call her mother every day to inquire about Sally and her wellbeing. It had been 8 months now since they had been separated from their daughter. One day they got a call from the grandmother which made their worst nightmare come true. 

Notorious Nanny

The grandmother called Chum informing her that the old woman who worked as Sally’s nanny had paid a visit and said that she really missed Sally and wanted to spend some time with her, take her out. She had called her to ask for her permission. Chum, complied. Little did she know that this would be her biggest mistake. The Nanny never returned, she had kidnapped Sally. 

Hit Hard

This is what Steve Jr. was told about his eldest sister. His mother further told him that after Sally had been kidnapped, the parents could not afford to go back to Korea as a lot of money had been spent in trying to bring Sally to America. The couple went on to have two more children- Connie and Steve Jr. but Steve Sr. had been really hit by Sally’s kidnapping and he started losing it.

Parting Ways

After the news of Sally’s disappearance, Steve Sr. took to alcohol, started abusing it. He was not making a lot of money and could not keep his current family well fed. The responsibilities were becoming too much for him, so he left his family. Left alone, Chum did not know what to do. She eventually remarried and moved to California with her kids. Was Sally receding in the background?

Constant Presence

Instead of being at the back of the memory, Sally was thought about very actively. Chum told both her kids about their eldest sister. She actually took them to Korea more than once to look for Sally but all her trips their proved to be a failure. During family gatherings, the girl’s absence weighed heavily. An uncle on Christmas dinner would comment, “Sally should be here.” 

Framed

Sally’s pictures were kept in the house to remind everyone of the lost member of the family. Little Steve Jr. would often think of his sister’s fate. Was she even alive? As he grew up, the urge to find her only grew stronger. Then came the age of the Internet, which made so many things easier. Steve Jr. decided to test the ability of the Internet, see if it is as powerful as people claimed it to be, he used it to look for his lost sister. 

Won’t Give Up

Steve thought of employing a private investigator to look for his lost 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

Steve Jr. did everything he could to find his sister that people did to find the people they lost years ago. He emailed his story and the details about his lost sister to news stations in hope of getting them interested. He even wrote to Oprah, hoping to get her attention, so he would get a stage to talk about his lost sister. None of this seemed to work out. Then he came up with another idea. 

In The Present

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.

One Of The Faces On The Book

Hoping that his sister was on the social media, no matter by whichever name- Steve Jr. set up a page named Sally Inman (Missing Child). If she was alive and grew up in Korea then the nanny could have probably given a Korean name. He also uploaded 12 photos of Sally on the page and gave details of her abduction, hoping some positive response would come. 

About Sally

In the about section of the page Steve decided to write Sally’s story, he wrote, “I was last seen in the city of Chang Mal near Camp Casey in South Korea. I have been missing since February of 1974. Please post this where you can and hopefully through social networking we can help me reunite with my long lost family.” It was a long shot, but worth a try.

Evil People

Steve Jr. had put up the post in the hopes of reuniting with his sister but initially, the idea backfired. People can be really evil. They pulled pranks on him, bombarding him with texts and calls claiming to be Sally or her children. This went on for months and Steve started losing hope. But one call changed everything.

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. 

Another Prank?

This is what the voicemail said, “Steve, I was on Facebook, and I noticed you were looking for your sister and I read the whole thing . . .” It was a woman’s voice, Steve held his breath in anticipation, “And I would like you just to give us a call because the girl you’re looking for is actually my mom.” Was it another prank? Should he call back? But if he didn’t he would be in suspense forever. So he called back. 

Hello From The Other Side

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.

Paternity Test?

On the other end, the ‘could be’ Sally was waiting for some sort of an emotional outburst from Steve and all he could think of saying was, “Maybe we could take a paternity test.” The woman’s tone sounded offended after this, she replied in annoyance, “I know who I am, I don’t need a paternity test.” This was a pickle but what was the solution?

Secret Password

Why was a paternity test not necessary? Because, the woman said, “Well, my mom would know it’s me, because I have a birthmark on my lip.” Steve was struck, he knew this was Sally, his mother had told her about the birthmark. On the interview, he said,  “that was the secret password,” he continued, “that was information we didn’t post.” But where had she been all this while?

All Emotional

Steve cut the call with his sister to call his mother and connect them all via conference call. He explained everything to his mother and told her about the birthmark. When they were connected Chum could only cry, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I don’t know what happened. I’m sorry that 37 years went by. I thought you were eating out of a trash can. I’m so glad you’re alive.” But how was Sally living?

Her Side

Obviously, Steve and his mother wanted to know what was Sally’s side of the story. Sally told them that she had been told that she was adopted by her nanny and that her biological parents had cut her off and stopped sending her money or letters after going to the US. The nanny married a soldier from America and immigrated to Texas.

Tough Transition

Sally said, “My adoptive mom gave me all the information she could, but I was half-Korean and half-American and didn’t fit in Korea or in Texas when we came to the States.” Sally was never accepted by her adoptive family, whenever she did something, she was scolded with the phrase, “wild, just like your father.”

A BABY WAS SEPARATED FROM HER FAMILY, AFTER 37 YEARS HER BROTHER TRIED TO LOOK FOR HER, WHAT HE FOUND CHANGED HIS LIFE!

SHREYAJUNE 8, 2018

EMOTIONALFAMILYNEWSOFFBEATPARENTHOOD

Sally’s Life

When old enough Sally got married and moved to South Carolina, she had seven kids. She had a lot of questions from her adoptive parents. She got to know they had lied to her about her blood group and wondered what other things they had lied about. Steve had to just accept that there were questions that will forever remain unanswered. Now, all were looking forward to the reunion.

No Easy Answers

In the interview, Steve observed “A lot of crazy things were going on in Korea. At the time, there was no technology. Korea was like a Third World country. There were no records of what happened. And now, the only people who have the answers – our grandmother and the nanny – are dead.” Some things had to be let go of. 

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.

Tearful Reunion

Steve Jr. and Connie arranged for their eldest sister and three of her kids 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 their kids. 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.