B.C. woman meets half-brother and possible sister after 20-year search

Thirty-eight years ago, an infant Janet Keall was abandoned at a Prince Rupert hospital.

Now, after a 20-year search for her biological parents, she's met her half-brother — and a woman who may be her sister.

Keall has been very public in her search, both on social media and through mainstream media outlets.

After first seeing her story and photo in a newspaper 12 years ago, a man name Kevin finally reached out to Keall, thinking they might be related. A DNA test confirmed that they share a birth mother.

Keall — who now lives in Charlottetown — met Kevin for the first time on Thursday at her childhood home, in the company of their families and friends.

"I come down around the stairs, and I see him," Keall told On the Coast host Stephen Quinn. "We lock eyes, and I couldn't stop smiling."

Striking similarities

On Friday morning, Keall also connected with a woman named Kathy who may be her sister. They plan to take a DNA test to confirm the relation.

Kathy and Kevin were both abandoned in circumstances similar to Keall's. Kevin was abandoned in a stairwell and Kathy on a porch, also both in Prince Rupert.

In piecing together their origin stories, the three identified a pattern of behaviour from their birth mother: Kathy was born 10 months before Keall was conceived, and Keall was born 10 months before Kevin was conceived.

The three also share a physical resemblance that goes beyond simply having similar features.

"Everyone around us is going, wait a minute, they kind of stand the same, and they kind of walk the same and move the same," Keall said. "You know, things that we might not necessarily pick up, but everybody else who's watching sees it."

No judgment for birth mom

The three don't believe the similarities between their stories are coincidence. They plan to continue the search for their birth mother.

Keall spoke emotionally about the prospect, saying she had nothing but sympathy for her birth mother and the circumstances that led her to abandon her children.

"I don't judge her. None of us judge her," Keall said. "We really don't hold any ill will against her."

The search continues, but for now, Keall looks forward to getting to know her new brother — and her potential sister.

"This is still very surreal," she said. "It just feels like I'm in a movie."

With files from CBC's On the Coast