(WSVN) - In 1983, she gave birth to twins. She was told they both died … but 35 years later, she is convinced her babies were alive and were taken from her. Now she is trying to find them, which is why she called Help Me Howard with Patrick Fraser.
Thirty-five years ago, Treisha fell in love.
Treisha Brown, searching for answers: “And the gentleman I fell in love with, I ended up getting pregnant from.”
SIx months later, Treisha was rushed to the hospital in St. Augustine. Her mother, who was a nurse, was in the room as the twins were delivered.
Treisha Brown: “I remember my mother sitting there after giving birth. Both of the boys were crying and she was holding them both. They were still alive.”
Treisha says, as the babies cried, the doctor revealed bad news.
Treisha Brown: “She told me the children were not going to make it because they were premature. That’s all she said to me.”
The babies were taken away. Treisha never got to hold them and never saw them.
When she was told they both died, she didn’t question it.
Treisha Brown: “I didn’t know any better.”
Treisha broke up with the twins’ father.
Decades passed. Treisha then got married, had two children and grandchildren.
Then last year, when she went to visit her mother in St. Augustine, she saw the man who fathered her twins back in 1983. They were both now single and started dating again.
Treisha Brown: “Now we are now back together again. Full circle.”
On their first date, Treisha and Herbert Simmons talked about the twins they lost.
Treisha Brown: “‘Why don’t we just go ahead and bring closure? We can pull the birth certificate and the death certificate.'”
One problem — neither the hospital nor the county had any record of the twins being born.
Treisha then drove to Jacksonville, where the state keeps those records. They searched for hours.
Treisha Brown: “The supervisor looked at me, and she said, ‘Ma’am, there is no way.’ She said, ‘I have never heard of this before.'”
No record of the babies’ birth. No record of their deaths.
Treisha Brown: “I have to be honest, I cried.”
Treisha says she cried because something became very clear to her that day.
Treisha Brown: “I knew then that they were alive. I knew without a shadow of a doubt that they are alive.”
What happened?
Treisha Brown: “I believe that my children were given to someone else. I believe that they were sold.”
That thought tortures Treisha.
Treisha Brown: “I just want them to know that I didn’t give them away. I didn’t give them away.”
Well, Howard, does Treisha have a right to know what happened to her boys, 35 years ago?
Howard Finkelstein, 7News legal expert: “Yes, she does. If the twins were alive and taken away without her permission, that’s kidnapping and a crime, but here is the problem: There’s no record of the birth. And with so many years passed by, the law is no help, but viewers might be.”
I first spoke to Treisha’s mother, who told me her memory was not great.
She would not talk to me on camera, but on the phone told me, “If the twins were alive, I would not have walked away from them.”
But Treisha remembers her holding the babies.
Treisha Brown: “I feel that in all honesty, my mom knows something more than she is telling me.”
The doctor who delivered the twins is still alive and didn’t return our calls.
The state confirmed there were no records of the boys’ birth or death.
One possibility…
In 1983, if the twins were less than 20 weeks, they would have been considered a fetal death and no records would have been kept. Not possible, says Treisha.
Treisha Brown: “I was six going on seven months.”
Treisha has now submitted her DNA to different registries in the hope that two 35-year-old men are looking for their birth mother — because she will never stop looking for them.
Treisha Brown: “There is hope. There is something out there. Someone knows something.”
This is so aggravating. We do Help Me Howard to get you answers, and in this one, we can’t determine if the twins are dead or alive, but now that Treisha’s story is out there, if you know a 35-year-old who is searching for his mother, let him know, because Treisha might be his mother.
Searching for answers to your problem? Wanna adopt a solution? Contact us, and let us give birth to a couple of ideas for you.
CONTACT HELP ME HOWARD:
Email: helpmehoward@wsvn.com
Reporter: Patrick Fraser at pfraser@wsvn.com
Miami-Dade: 305-953-WSVN
Broward: 954-761-WSVN
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