Long lost North Texas brothers reunite after 58 years

Kurt Carroll, by some estimates, was sitting at the right place at the right time when someone asked him the right questions: "Aren't you adopted? Did you ever find your biological parents?'

The 58-year-old retired Dallas Police Department officer recalls sitting in a courtroom with his daughter and a coworker, who tagged along with her father to court sometimes.

"I was adopted in Dallas. I was born in Dallas Osteopathic Hospital," Carroll said. "And I said, I was picked up at Sears and Roebuck right down the street here."

A lifetime search for answers begins with a sealed adoption file

His coworker got him to a sealed file. The judge who could help him was one courtroom over. Carroll made his case to the judge, gained his favor, and began his journey looking for his parents. His adoptive family, he said, never hid his past from him.

A little detective work on Facebook and other signs, like his son's unrelated search on an ancestry site, yielded, "Dad, you know anyone named Rossing? It says we're related to them." 

Carroll had discovered who he believed were his siblings. One in particular works at the Benbrook Fire Department.

A sticky note leads to a life-changing family reunion

Over the last year, he's tried multiple times, half a dozen or so, to reach out here to no avail. Ultimately, giving up, telling the secretary to "Give him my number and tell him to call me, please," Assistant Fire Chief Chris Rossing said.

Rossing said he kept missing Carroll. Finally, he saw a sticky on his door with Carroll's name, number and "Please call." So, he did, thinking a citizen might have a complaint. Instead, it was a Terrell-raised man who said, "I wanted to tell you this in person."

"He was like, 'This is Chief Rossing. I was told I needed to call you,'" said Carroll. "So, I just kinda led into the deal and asked did he know these people? And he said, 'I know both of them. They're my parents.' And I was like, 'They're my parents too, apparently.'"

Dallas man discovers long-lost siblings after decades of searching

Rossing, who is a twin, was the oldest of the brothers and sisters he knew about. His brother, Tony, works in the restaurant industry. They have a sister and step-siblings. 

"I mean, what he said went in and out of my head. And then it took me a minute to realize, wait, what did he just say?" Rossing said. "So I questioned him, 'what did you just tell me?' And he had to repeat it. And I was just dumbfounded, completely dumbfounded."

The assistant fire chief said he had no reason for disbelief. His twin, Tony, is so accustomed to the rhythm and connectivity twins have that after 58 years a new older brother is going to take some getting used to.

"I'm still am trying to [absorb] it all and take it all in and learn it. It's fascinating. It's going to be very interesting to go down this road," Tony Rossing said.

From strangers to brothers: a new family bond begins

Carroll said he wants to know about his biological family's history, and he sees what this means to his brothers. However, if he doesn't get any answers, he has an existing family who continues to love him. 

The newly found brothers had not shared the discovery with their father, who is in Fort Worth and described as estranged. But, the retired officer has started building bridges with his twin brothers.

"When he [the assistant chief] invited me to his house, and I go up, and I knock on the door, and he opens the door, it's like, 'Holy moly,'" Carroll said.

Rossing said others have cast a lot more doubt than he has. 

"When I saw him, I was like, he's definitely got my genetics. There's no way this guy is not related to me," Rossing, "It's so good now because it's so unexpected and such a welcome surprise that no regrets at all."