FORT PIERCE, Fla. (WSVN) — A DNA discovery has linked two families who have been searching for each other for decades.
Rod Hobbs flew to Florida’s Treasure Coast on Friday to meet not only his sister but his dad, too.
Back at the Treasure Coast International Airport in Fort Pierce, Hobbs’ sister said waiting for a plane has never felt so nerve-racking.
“The wait is killing me,” said Britny McFarlane as she waited to see someone she’s only seen in photos.
McFarlane said she felt a whole array of emotions.
“Nervous and excited, happy and sad all at the same time,” she said.
McFarlane acknowledged her brother is already a huge part of her life.
“I’ve missed so much life not knowing him,” she said.
Cameras captured the moment McFarlane spotted Hobbs in a sea of travelers, a face that already looked familiar.
Hobbs and McFarlane broke down in tears as they hugged.
Hobbs said this was a moment he had dreamed of for 32 years.
“You look like us,” McFarlane said to him.
When he was just 15, Hobbs learned the man he thought was his dad was not. He said his mother took his father’s true identity to the grave.
“I’ve hired private detectives and DNA experts,” he said.
But finally a DNA expert figured it out.
“I just can’t wait for you to see Dad, meet Dad,” said McFarlane.
Their father, Robert Kopelakis, has also been waiting decades to find his son. He raced home to meet his child face to face.
Cameras captured the moment father and son embraced for the first time.
“I’m sorry that we lost so much time. You’re my son,” said Kopelakis.
“The missing link,” said Hobbs.
The entire family is now putting their distance in the past so they can focus on making up for lost time.
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