The past year was, in many respects, a year full of tragedy and unrest. But among the dark headlines were some heartwarming stories of redemption and reunions. These are some of the best from 2016.
Florida woman helps secure release of man who shot her in face as teen 25 years ago
It was a heartwarming reunion “26 years in the making” between a shooter and his victim.
Debbie Baigrie and Ian Manuel, who shot Baigrie in the face in 1990, were reunited when Manuel was released from prison in November. Manuel was sentenced to life in prison when he was 13 and Baigrie advocated for the young man, becoming an unlikely ally.
Judge allows inmate to meet newborn son for first time
A judge in Louisville, Ky., allowed an inmate to meet his one-month-old son for the first time during a hearing this past summer.
Judge Amber Wolf was presiding over a courtroom in Jefferson County and husband and wife James and Ashley Roeder had hearings on the same day.
In a gesture of humanity and without violating or changing the couple’s no-contact order, Wolf allowed James to meet his son for the first time.
Adopted Minnesota woman finds birth mother through Facebook
When Kate-Madonna Hindes of Minnesota found out she was diagnosed with anal precancer, she went on a quest to find her birth mom.
Hindes, who was adopted as a baby, said her second scare with cancer was enough to start searching. She’s already battled cervical cancer.
Now, the 34-year-old woman says her reunion with her long-lost mother has been, “such a wonderful love story.”
Homeless man reconnects with long-lost nephew after viral photo
A Nova Scotia man was reunited with his estranged uncle Elwyn Murphy, a homeless man in Toronto, after a viral social media post.
In February, Murphy was pictured in a Facebook post after he was on the receiving end of an act of kindness.
His nephew, Victor Boudreau, saw it and was reconnected with his uncle – on his 31st birthday no less – whom he hadn’t seen or heard from for a decade.
Best friends from Chinese orphanage reunited after each adopted by Texas neighbours
Two children who became best friends in a Chinese orphanage were reunited after one child, Hannah, was adopted by the Sykes family in Texas. But Hannah’s parents couldn’t stop thinking of their daughter’s friend Dawson, still awaiting adoption in China.
The Sykes posted a plea on Facebook to see if anyone in their social network would be willing to adopt Dawson. Their neighbours, Amy and Christopher Clary, said they decided to add Dawson to their family within minutes of seeing the post. Now Hannah and Dawson live minutes away from each other.
#BringGobiHome: stray dog adopted by ultramarathoner lost then found
When the story of Gobi the stray dog first hit social media, she became a viral sensation. The hashtag #BringGobiHome was seen across the web as fans of the loyal dog who followed ultra-marathoner Dion Leonard across the Gobi desert rooted for her to be allowed to with Leonard to his home in Edinburgh.
But while she was in mandatory quarantine in China, Gobi escaped. Dion flew back to China to find her, and he eventually did with the help of locals. The saga between man and beast is set to come to a conclusion in 2017 when Gobi’s quarantine ends and is allowed to join Dion’s family in Scotland.
— With files from Emanuela Campanella, Global News
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