Chinese Father Finds Daughter

“A positive DNA test has helped reunite a young woman with her birth family in China 13 years after she went missing when she was five years old.

Kylee Bowers, known as Liang Jinglang by birth, went missing on the streets of Zhongshan in southern China and was later adopted by an American couple in 2012.

The girl, now 18, was welcomed by her birth parents and three siblings in Guangdong on Sunday after flying 7,780 miles to her birthplace from her current home in Chicago.

Video footage of the emotional reunion released by the Shunde police department shows an anxious Mr Liang Hua waiting for his daughter at the arrival hall of Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport.

The moment he spotted her, the pair hugged each other and broke down in tears.

Back at the family home in Foshan, a large red banner with the words ‘Kylee, welcome back home’ was placed across the door along with dozens of brightly-coloured balloons.

Bowers got lost when she was trying to find her father in the Ronggui district of Zhongshan city in May 2005, when she was only five. Her father had left her under the care of her uncle, who lived in Dongfeng town less than 10 kilometres (6.2 miles) away.

An elderly woman found the little girl wandering the street alone and took her to the police station. However, Bowers could not understand the officers’ questions since they spoke a different dialect.

She was then sent to Zhongshan Children’s Welfare Institute where she was given the name Zhong Fengmin, according to Southern Metropolis Daily.

Seven years later, an American couple adopted the girl, gave her a new name and a new home in Chicago – far away from China.

In the meantime, Mr Liang and his wife, Wu Qinmei desperately searched for their daughter – but to no avail.

He couldn’t eat during the first week after Bowers had gone missing and even fainted in his home, Mr Liang told reporters.

He never held the same job for longer than a year, saying he was constantly relocating to aid his daughter’s search.

Bowers also began searching for her birth parents since 2014, posting a search notice with her information on a Chinese website called Baby Back Home, a non-profit organisation that helps families track down lost children.

Back at home in Guangdong, Mr Liang read several news reports about the case – and thought the girl matched the description of his lost baby daughter exactly.

He went on the Baby Back Home website and was surprised to find a picture of her missing daughter on the forum.

The two started chatting on WeChat on May 3, with Mr Liang trying to get Bowers to remember bits and pieces of her childhood.

‘Do you have a small mole on your nose? Do you remember dislocating your arm while playing in front of the house?’ He asked via text messages.

Two minutes later, she replied: ‘You are my father!’

Her parents immediately reported the discovery to the local police, who conducted a test that matched Mr Liang and Ms Wu’s DNA with the sample Bowers left in a database before her adoption.

Mr Liang is relieved to know that Bowers has grown up to be a smart young woman, earning excellent grades in school.  She has also been admitted to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

‘I am elated,’ Mr Liang said. ‘I knew my daughter was somewhere, waiting for me to find her.’

‘I won’t force her to come back to China,’ Mr Liang said. ‘I’m happy if she’s happy.’ ”
‘Dad, I’m home!’ Girl, 18, is reunited with her long-lost father after being separated from him at the age of five in China then being adopted by an American family

[Daily Mail 7/3/18 by Kelsey Cheng]

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