Jerry Jensen and Janice Consolver, brother and sister, grew up north of Kansas City and for years both of them believed there was someone else in their family, a sibling they had never met.
"It was a total secret between both families," Jerry said.
At the same time, 1,200 miles away, Don Fox suspected something was not right. When his adopted father died, Don's uncle confirmed for the first time what he had suspected all along.
Don never followed up on that tip from his uncle, but out of curiosity, he tried ancestry DNA, just as Jerry and Janice were doing at the same time in Kansas City.
When Janice got the word they got a likely match, she turned to social media, Facebook, then she found a telephone number on the white pages website.
Jerry and Janice discussed making a call to the man whose DNA turned up. Jerry didn't want to tell an 80-year-old man that his father wasn't really his father. Janice pointed out that since the man's DNA was submitted to an ancestry website, he was likely searching, too.
Janice and Don remember the phone call. Janice asked him if he was the Donald Fox who lives in Mesa, Arizona, asked him if he was sitting down, then informed him she was likely his sister.
"She couldn't quit crying," Don said. "My head was spinning. It was one of the greatest days of my life."
Don never knew his biological father. That man went on to father other children, Jerry and Janice.
Jerry, Janice and four other family members flew to Arizona. In the airport, the young kids immediately recognized a man who bore a startling resemblance to their grandfather. Don remembers feeling like he was looking in a mirror after his little sister sent him photos of their father.
"It was just like he'd been in our lives forever, it was just so natural," Janice said.
"I really, really regret I didn't know (Don) earlier," Jerry said. "I always wanted an older brother, and I never had one."
Jerry and Janice feel fortunate that their story has some a happy ending, but they know not all reunions are so rosy.
"If you do it, and you're not ready for the results, don't do it," Jerry said.
