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DNA test helps adopted B.C. woman find long-lost sisters

B.C. woman finally meets three sisters she didn't know she had – Feb 1, 2019

Since she was just a little girl, Norah McMenamon has known she was adopted.

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And while she adored her adoptive parents, she often thought of the family that gave her up.

She was only nine months old when her young, single mother was forced to give Norah, then named Diane, to an adoption agency in her Montreal neighbourhood.

Norah McMenamon’s birth mother. Global News

After moving to Vancouver with her new family — where she grew up, got married and had her own children —  she continued to wonder about her birth family.

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But it wasn’t until last year that she attempted to look for them.

She checked out the genetic testing website 23andMe, sent in a DNA sample and was delighted that they had found a match.

Norah McMenamon’s adoptive parents. Global News

The test revealed she had a half-sister named Susan living in Ontario. And it turned out Susan had been searching for her long-lost sister for 10 years.

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At last Norah had found not just one sister, but three of them.

And she learned the name of her birth mother, Eileen Dubreuil, who had died a few years before and bore a striking resemblance.

Norah’s long-lost half-sister Susan had been looking for her for a decade. Global News

After communicating over the phone and on Facebook for several months, Susan and Norah at last met at Pearson Airport in Toronto Thursday night. As did their husbands, both named Bruce.

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The sisters plan to catch up on several decades of family history over the coming week.

Watch: more DNA-assisted reunions

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