"Long-lost Son's Global Journey Ends with Tearful Reunion: A Lifetime of Emotions in a Hug"

A 42-year-old Virginia man, Jimmy Lippert Thyden, hugged his biological mother for the first time after being separated at birth and told she had died. After a months-long international search, Thyden met his birth mother, Maria Angelica Gonzalez, in Chile. The emotional reunion included his wife and two daughters, as well as his newly discovered siblings. Thyden's journey began when he took a DNA test and connected with a cousin who helped him find his birth mother. The reunion was made possible with the help of a Chilean nonprofit. Thyden's case is an example of the thousands of counterfeit adoptions that occurred during the reign of Gen. Augusto Pinochet in Chile.