'A flat miracle': DNA tests help reunite Texas siblings after 70 years

Credit: PublicDomainPictures/Pixabay

Credit: PublicDomainPictures/Pixabay

It was "a flat miracle" thanks to DNA testing, which reunited a Texas man with his biological sister after 70 years, WFAA reported.

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Dennis Blackstone and his twin brother, Doug, were adopted when they were 3 years old by a family in Corsicana, the television station reported.

Both boys knew they had a biological sister, but it took a DNA kit from 23andMe for Dennis Blackstone to find his sister, Connie Rusk. The result was a tearful reunion outside a Texas restaurant, WFAA reported.

Blackstone received the kit last year and sent a sample to the company. Earlier this month, he received an email alerting him to a person who had a strong DNA match, the television station reported.

Blackstone was able to contact a cousin, and ultimately, Rusk’s telephone number.

Last week, he sent Rusk a text.

"I said, 'I was told I have a sister named Connie, and I'm just curious and wanted to know, does this happen to be you?'" Blackstone told WFAA.

Rusk’s response was immediate.

"I was driving, and when that text came through, I slammed on my brakes and I had to pull over to the side of the road," she told the television station.

Blackstone learned he had two half-sisters and found out his sister had been searching for him, too. The irony is that both of them lived within an hour of each other for years, WFAA reported. However, name changes threw up roadblocks that could not be overcome -- until the DNA testing.

The reunited siblings have lost their biological mother, and Doug Blackstone has also passed away, the television station reported.

Blackstone and Rusk shared photographs of their families and shared their life’s journey.

"It is just a flat miracle," Rusk told WFAA. "That's all this is, it's a miracle!"

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