Jordyn O’Neil spent much of her life wondering about her father, having lost her mother at the age of 10 and lacking any essential information about him. Despite using AncestryDNA to locate him, O’Neil was met with roadblocks.
After discovering two photographs of her mother and father, O’Neil turned to Facebook in search of answers. Posting the photos and her father’s first name, Brian, to the Downriver and Friends group, a community known for its willingness to help others, O’Neil was overwhelmed with the response.
She received numerous tips, including phone numbers and addresses, and was ultimately reunited with her father, Brian Ahern, on April 9 after 25 years.
Ahern, who had raised O’Neil on his own until her mother took her to Texas at eight months old, had often thought about his daughter and hoped she would find him. The two were overjoyed to be reunited, with O’Neil noting, “There was no denying that this is my dad. I just feel so grateful… to experience this love and support from strangers on the internet and now finding my dad.”
Ahern has conveyed to O’Neil the extent to which she has revitalized his life with love, and the father and daughter now communicate with each other on a daily basis. Additionally, O’Neil was able to introduce Ahern to his three-month-old grandson, Asher, and the family feels complete. As O’Neil describes it, “locating her father felt akin to discovering the elusive fragment of a puzzle.”