Website Reunites Woman With Biological Father, 34 Years Later

MODESTO (CBS13) - A local woman found her biological father after 34 years using a website called ancestry.com, and as it turns out he lives just a county away.

"I was just curious and always wanted to know what you looked like," Candice Laccetti read aloud.

It's the first message Curtis Harris received from a daughter he never knew he had.

"I just broke into tears because I didn't know what to think," he said.

Curtis submitted his DNA to Ancestry.com just to find out his ethnicity. Instead, he got the surprise of his life.

"I sent it in and six weeks later, the day before my birthday, I get an email and it says Curtis 95220 is your father. I was making dinner and I think dropped the spatula and I started shaking," Candice said.

It was an answer to her prayers. She's been searching for him for most of her life.

"I knew his name, but I didn't know how to spell it is it a K or is it a C. Is it Curt? is it Curtis?" she said.

Curtis was never told he had this child. He dated Candice's mother only briefly and after that moved to San Jose. By the time Candice said she was old enough to search, she turned to the yellow pages and those leads turned cold.

"I thought I would never ever find this guy. All I had was his name and nothing else to go off of and it's just a miracle I think," she said.

The two decided to meet up for the first time in August. Candice found out she has sisters that look just like her and would you believe it, a half sister also named Candice.

"We lived in the same town for years and he was right under my nose this whole time and I didn't even know it," she said.

Thanks to a website, curiosity, and a daughter determined to find her father, the family has grown by leaps and bounds. So have their hearts.

"Overwhelmed with excitement and opportunity to just have more people in our lives to love," Curtis said.

They now plan to spend the next 34 years making up for lost time.

"I've got a new daughter and six grandchildren and six more grandchildren. Who can't think that's not blessed?" he said.