Melissa Highsmith reunited with the family she was stolen from last November
A baby kidnapped from her biological parents in 1971 and raised by another family has legally changed her name back to her birth name after reuniting with the family she was stolen from.
Last Wednesday, with her biological parents by her side, the former Melanie Walden stood before a judge in Tarrant County, Texas, and legally changed both her first and last names. She is now Melissa Highsmith.
As seen in a video of the proceeding shared by NBC-DFW reporter Alanna Quillen, the courtroom erupted into a sustained standing ovation.
Melissa’s father, Jeffrie Highsmith, told the judge, “Thank you, your honor.” At that point, the judge stood up, took off his glasses and joined in the applause before posing for a photo with the reunited family.
Melissa was a toddler when she was abducted from her Fort Worth, Texas, home on Aug. 23, 1971 by a person posing as a babysitter. Melissa grew up just 10 minutes away from her biological family, raised as Melanie Miyoko, and ran away from home at the age of 15.
“Me and my mom were never close,” Melissa, 53, told last November. “And the whole time I was there, it was a bad childhood.”
“I wasn’t allowed to go outside and play, or she always sheltered me,” she says. “And she said the reason she sheltered me was because I was born at home and that I had brain damage.”
After decades of searching for her, her biological family found her after Melissa’s biological father, Jeffrie Highsmith, took a 23andMe DNA test that showed a connection between himself and one of Melissa’s three children.
“My whole life was a lie,” Melissa previously told the Star–Telegram of Fort Worth.
Six months later, the Fort Worth Police Department released news that a DNA test had confirmed Melissa’s identity.
“It is our hope that this test result will offer additional closure for the Highsmith family,” a police spokesperson said in a statement shared with .
Melissa’s sister, Rebecca Highsmith Del Bosque, posted on Facebook: “The results were exactly what we already knew. We now have OFFICIAL confirmation that she is ours! Our daughter, sister, aunt, cousin, niece. We are thrilled! We are thankful and grateful for all the love and support we have received over the years and especially since we found Melissa. Our family is whole and we look forward to the time we will be able to spend as a family of 7.”
Melissa’s husband, John Brown, posted on Facebook, “My breathtaking wife and an amazing woman has been officially given her identity back as Melissa Highsmith! She is an inspiration to all and a beacon of Hope for many.”
Despite her family’s desire for answers and justice, criminal charges might not be possible because the statute of limitations has expired.
“Even though the criminal statute of limitations expired 20 years after Melissa’s 18th birthday, the Fort Worth Police Department is committed to completing this investigation to uncover all of the available information concerning Melissa’s abduction that occurred 51 years ago,” Fort Worth Police said in a statement to CBS last November.