First Nation woman's plea to locate adopted brother goes viral

Natashia Francois has spent half her life not knowing she had an older sibling and the other half trying to find him. The 27-year-old mother of four, from Nelson House First Nation, found out she had an older brother more than 10 years ago.

“I was surprised. I was shocked. I didn’t expect to hear that I had an older brother,” she said.

Francois's mother, Maria Goretti Bighetty, was just 15 when she gave up her son Christopher. Before she passed away, she told her daughter that she attempted to find for him but nothing came out of it.

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All Francois knew about her brother is that Christopher Bighetty was born in Winnipeg on July 16, 1979.  This past May Natashia filled out an adoption registry form and last month she found out her brother's adoption was finalized in Ontario. 

Natashia recently took to social media to help her in this search, with a post which has garnered over 1,500 shares. In the photo she is seen holding up a sign saying, ”I'm trying to locate my brother who’s birth name is Christopher Basil Bighetty."

So far she has got word from a man in Calgary claiming to know of a Christopher Bighetty who recently moved from Ontario, but he has not gotten back to her with any more information.

Francois recently lost her mother, father and a brother, fuelling her desire to connect with her long lost brother.

“It would be such a great blessing for him to be with us after so many years of wanting to find him. And for the day to come would mean the world and so much more to our family," she said.