A woman has revealed how she tracked down her biological parents and discovered she was half black – almost 24 years after her adoption.
Sydney Parkhurst was given up for adoption as an infant because her mother, Inga Coleman, could not care for her.
The 24-year-old Florida woman always knew her biological mother would not be able to raise her, but she had no information about the names, ages or location of her biological parents.
But that all changed in 2020 when her maternal half-sister, Kayla Hensley, 32, reached out to her and told her the tragic news that her mother had passed away in 2018.
After the heartbreaking news, Sydney decided to search for her biological parents and wanted to find out everything she could. She took a DNA test on Ancestry.com.
A woman has revealed how she tracked down her biological parents and discovered she was half black – almost 25 years after she was adopted
More than twenty years later, she finally reconnected with her father in a “surreal” reunion.
Sydney began her search for her biological parents in 2018, when she submitted a sample to 23andMe.
After submitting another test to Ancestry.com, she received a message from her paternal cousin, ChanDreas Barkley, 31, who put her in touch with her father, Lenton Mitchell, 53, who works in paving.
Her father texted her to say he wished he had met her sooner and the couple met for the first time on June 23, 2024 in Cartersville, Georgia.
They described their reunion as “surreal.” With no information about her father, it was only after searching for her biological family that she discovered she was mixed.
Sydney, a multimedia designer, said, “I always knew I was adopted.
‘I don’t know exactly why. All I know is that my biological mother couldn’t keep me and she didn’t give the hospital many details about who my father was.
‘I grew up in Rhode Island and I didn’t look like the rest of the people in that community.
Sydney Parkhust (pictured with a member of her biological family) was put up for adoption as a child after her mother, Inga Coleman, was unable to raise her
The 24-year-old from Florida (who has reconnected with her father) always knew her biological mother couldn’t raise her, but she had no information about her biological parents
‘I had a really hard time adjusting to school and I didn’t know I was half black until I took a DNA test in my final year.’
Sydney was born on March 10, 2000 in Rome, Georgia, and was given up for adoption immediately after birth.
A month later, she was taken in by Kimberly Parkhurst, 64, and her husband, David, 61.
Her adoptive parents then moved 1,000 miles from Atlanta, Georgia, to Barrington, Rhode Island, where Sydney grew up.
Sydney said, “Rhode Island doesn’t have a lot of diversity and my parents are both white. Growing up, I felt like an outsider.
‘I struggled to fit in, but I was good at sports and that was the reason I fit in.
“It was still very difficult for me because I had no one who looked like me.”
Sydney said she had a wonderful childhood and was “blessed” to have her adoptive parents, but she was scared to tell them she wanted to find her biological mother and father.
She revealed: ‘I didn’t want to seem ungrateful for everything they’ve done for me. I would go on random websites and try to find whatever I could. I always had that question and I always wanted to know who my biological parents were.’
In 2018, during her senior year of high school, Sydney took a DNA test and submitted the results to the website 23andMe.
That all changed in 2020 when her maternal half-sister reached out to her and told her the tragic news that her mother had passed away in 2018 (seen here with her biological family)
“My half-sister contacted me in April 2020 and said we might be half-siblings,” she said.
‘In January 2021, I met my maternal half-sister, who told me that my mother had passed away two years earlier.
‘I knew then that it would be a huge task to find my biological father, because my mother had not left any information about him.’
Sydney then took another DNA test and posted it to Ancestry.com, where she received a message from her paternal cousin.
She said, “I thought I had to find my father in case he had died.
‘I found my cousin and she was able to find out which of her uncles was my father.
“She asked her uncles if they knew my biological mother’s name and he said yes.”
Sydney then received a text message from her father, Lenton, saying he wished they had met sooner.
After the heartbreaking news, Sydney (pictured with members of her biological family) decided to go on a hunt to find out everything she could about her biological parents.
It was then that she finally reconnected with her father more than two decades later in a “surreal” reunion
He said, “I’m glad you contacted me. If I had known about you, we would have met sooner.”
“I love you and I’m happy to have a new daughter, who I didn’t know existed. If you have any questions, you can call me.”
According to Sydney, the news came as a “surprise” because she had prepared herself for the possibility that he would no longer want to know her or that, like her mother, he would be dead.
She said, “I waited a few days to respond and I said it was weird and nice to hear from him.
‘It took me a whole year to process what had happened.’
In May 2024, her half-brother, Tony Mitchell, 31, contacted her and said Sydney should go to Georgia to surprise her father.
She drove to Cartersville and met her nieces, nephews, cousins and aunts on June 22, the day before the surprise dinner to meet her father.
She said: ‘We had planned a brunch but the family said he can be hard to reach sometimes so I didn’t expect him to show up.
‘We went to a restaurant where I met some other aunts and my grandmother.
‘Suddenly he comes through the door.’
The 24-year-old was thrilled to spend quality time with her family
Meanwhile, her father revealed he was ‘nervous’ to meet his daughter
The 24-year-old was thrilled to spend time with her family.
She said: ‘It was really cool to meet the family and see the qualities that I share with them. They are all small, just like me, and they all seem super genuine. They were all so welcoming and friendly.
‘My father was much more emotional than I thought he would be. He was quiet and reserved, he kept looking at me and saying how much I looked like my biological mother.
“He was very excited to meet me and said he regretted not having a relationship with me right away.”
Meanwhile, her father said he was “nervous” to meet his daughter.
Lenton said: ‘When I met Sydney I was excited and nervous at the same time.
“When I saw her, I was happy that I could finally meet her. I wish I had met her sooner.”
