Chile's Stolen Children: U.S. Adoptees Reunite with Birth Families Decades Later

Five U.S. adoptees departed from Houston on Friday to reunite with their birth families in Chile for the first time since being stolen as infants during Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship. The reunion has been made possible through the efforts of Connecting Roots, an NGO committed to reuniting Chilean adoptees with their biological families.

Human rights organizations estimate that thousands of children were taken from their birth parents during Pinochet’s rule from 1973 to 1990 and adopted by foreign families. Pinochet promoted adoptions as a means to reduce poverty, while medical professionals, clergy, judges, and others are believed to have profited from the process.

Connecting Roots was founded by Tyler Graf, a Texas-based firefighter and adoptee, who discovered that he had been stolen at birth. Through MyHeritage DNA testing, the NGO has successfully reunited over 100 families, with many more reaching out in hopes of reconnecting with lost children.

The five adoptees will land in Chile on Saturday and spend the next few days meeting their birth families. Among them is Ana Maria Haefmeyer, a 36-year-old administrative assistant from Minnesota. She expressed a mix of excitement and nerves ahead of the emotional reunion.

"I will finally get to meet the person that brought me into this world and see where I get my energy from and who I look like," Haefmeyer shared.

Haefmeyer had searched for her birth mother for years without success. It was only after she got married and attempted to change her name that she discovered she was still a Chilean citizen, prompting her to reach out to Connecting Roots.

She credited her adoptive parents for their support in her journey. "They know this will help close or fill the hole in my heart that I’ve always felt was missing," she said.