Missing Baby Found After 51 Years: The Incredible Story of Melissa Highsmith

Missing Baby Found After 51 Years: The Incredible Story of Melissa Highsmith

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52 Responses

  1. Kendall Rae says:

    There are currently some audio issues going on on YouTube’s side. I have put in a request for help. Sorry for the inconvenience!

  2. Angie Crystal says:

    in my opinion, the lady who bought Melissa should automatically be seen as “involved” in this case. she may not have been involved in the abduction but she bought a child & knowing all these years that Melissa was bought & sold which are crimes in itself but happy she was able to be reunited with her family!💓truly a miracle!

    • Lilly willette says:

      @han solo you have to buy people in order to adopt 💀what’s the difference between this and adoption

    • Mumtaz Amiri says:

      Totally agree ! Receipt of stolen goods is a crime so how is it not an issue involving a human being ? Should be considered as Child Trafficking! The lady has some explaining to do !

    • SNM says:

      100 percent!! She knew that she was abducted. She shouldn’t have her identity kept private and she should be investigated !

    • han solo says:

      Right!? And the fact that she BOUGHT A PERSON… literally means she participated in human trafficking. How is that not an issue being raised here??

  3. TropicalPlaties2017 says:

    The fact that the person who raised her KNEW is absolutely disgusting. It’s also disgusting that she purchased a child and still didn’t give that child the best life possible! I’m so glad this was solved. I really hope this opens up the possibility to find the person who actually took her and maybe even the ring that may have more children hidden.

  4. Steph Lyndsey says:

    I hate to hear that Melissa didn’t have a healthy childhood, after ALL those people went through to kidnap her the least they could’ve did is give her the best life!! It’s really a blessing that everyone is still alive today and able to reunite, sometimes the truth comes out too late. Best wishes to Melissa and her family!! Make the most of every day!! ❤

    • Kina Kina says:

      @em I wonder how the fake mom obtained a birth certificate and SS number for Melissa? She had to have those to enroll her school and for medical records etc. Melissa herself would need them for employment, banking/credit and taxes.

    • Kina Kina says:

      @Raimey Ewens And they probably stole a lot more than one baby. Five hundred was a lot of money back then. They probably stole several babies per month.

    • Steven Mutumbu says:

      @Sidology1.0☁︎ Very sad story did they think she was Baby Toy?

    • Blissfulnessence says:

      You can’t both love a child and steal a child from their parents.

    • em says:

      @Sidology1.0☁︎ or yk real the benefits they would’ve gotten from adopting a child. hypothetically speaking & for example, as I don’t believe this is the case & there are specific characteristics that don’t match w this specific story, if they would’ve adopted so they could get government benefits since you do get them if you adopt a child, or the more children you have, the more money you can get. Something along those lines. But ik it wasn’t an “actual” adoption & this isn’t really the case, but it’s an idea and something LIKE it could’ve been the case, yk?

  5. Claire says:

    The most poignant aspect of this case to me is the cycle of misfortune occuring here. Alta’s mom giving her up led her to having an unstable adult life, which led in part to Melissa’s abduction. Then because of the unfortunate events that occured in Melissa’s life, all stemming from her kidnapping during her infancy, caused her to have to put her children up for adoption. It’s absolutely incredible the chain effect that circumstances from more than half a century ago have on the present here and now.

    • Jocelyn Kreiser says:

      @Lily G generational curses and intergenerational trauma…she had a disadvantage from the very beginning. heartbreaking tbh.

    • Jocelyn Kreiser says:

      @Kayleigh much of my family is the same, men especially, and my dad was and continues to be abusive, manipulative, and narcissistic. lots of toxicity, unresolved conflict, and resentment there. still unpacking that trauma, unlearning the poor social skills and bad relationship etiquette i saw, absorbed, and imitated as a child, and teaching myself better, healthier ways. so i do understand. but we *can* be the change, we can break the cycles of abuse and dysfunction. i believe in us, and we deserve to make a better life for ourselves. you got this 🫶🏻

    • Martha Fitch says:

      Yes, it’s generational trauma and it can end when someone in the family breaks the cycle.

    • Martha Fitch says:

      Yes, generational trauma can only end when someone breaks the cycle.

    • TV 🦋🦋 says:

      @Kayleigh you keep on trying one day at a time. When situations arise, think before you react. Every day is a chance for change; it’s an ongoing process.

      I know I broke my dysfunctional family’s cycle when I look at my children’s happy faces. My children choosing to hang out with me tells me that I’m doing something right. But there are days and situations that make me want to go backwards. One day at time.

  6. TheLawnTreader says:

    It’s mind boggling to me that someone would jump through all the hoops of buying and concealing a child for 50 years if they’re not going to actually be a parent.

    • Kina Kina says:

      @Barbara McMillan The person who sold her may have lied and said they were the baby’s parent. Probably told some hard luck story as to why they had to sell her.

    • rubthesleep says:

      I was so sad to hear what she’s gone through. Other stories of this kind of thing it’s just a woman lying about being pregnant and trying to keep a guy. The women desperate to have a baby treat them well

    • Ellie F says:

      This I think is typical of what I know of abductions like that.

    • Nic Bro says:

      Abusers gonna abuse

    • Amber Grace says:

      I thought the exact same thing and went to comment this as well…. You rip a baby from their family and then don’t even have the decency to be a parent and raise her in a stable, living environment.

  7. Bitch Lasagna says:

    Happy endings are the reason I get invested in true crime. Whether it’s someone being found, or someone being brought to legal justice, these are the stories that bring us here

  8. nevadalamb says:

    They bought her for $500?!! Omg 😭 my heart really goes out to Melissa for being bought into a family that didn’t even give her a good upbringing. I’m both so sad and mad for her.

    • Devika Lee says:

      me too. this story is honestly so frustrating.

    • Courtney Puzzo says:

      @Rosie Ro actually the 500 baby Melissa was sold for is equal to $3,600 in todays money and yeah it was a lot in the early 70s as min wage was $1.60 in those days my late paternal great grandmother was a custom drapery maker nearing the end of her career she retired in 1972 or 73 and my dad started working in a local Italian American Restaurant called Morelli’s one of the first places in East Boston to Deliver food starting around Superbowl 8 in 1975

    • budgiebirdy says:

      Supposedly. I mean, who knows for sure. The woman who raised Melissa doesn’t sound like someone of good character so anything’s possible.

    • Taylor Anderson says:

      My heart really goes out to Melissa for being brought into a family that didn’t even give her a good upbringing. I’m both so sad and mad for her.

    • M. Mari says:

      It always blows my mind when the story is some variation of, went out of my way to adopt/ (in this case steal) a baby, then neglects them.

  9. Isabelle says:

    I felt so sorry for Melissa, she got kidnapped and the family raised her was awful. I am so happy she found her biological family.

  10. Breanna Evans says:

    Despite the horrible things that happened to her, Melissa seems like she turned out to be such a sweet woman. So happy for all of them!

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