A lifetime and miles in woman's search of lost family leads to Fresno
FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- A journey to find her family has taken a woman across the country and back, with that search now leading her to Fresno.
In 1962, Linda Marshall was put up for adoption at just 2 weeks old. She says she grew up in a loving home and was spoiled by her parents, but she always wondered about her biological parents.
In the early 90s, she found out about an older sister.
"I had a sister named Sandra, who was born on January 16th, 1961, in Arizona," said Marshall. "Which is where I was born and abandoned in Phoenix, Arizona as well. She's only 13 months older than I am."
Paper trails only led her to dead ends. It would take a DNA test in 2015 for her to find Sandra Richards all the way out in Kentucky. Marshall was living in Reno then, but that couldn't stop her from meeting her sister.
Meanwhile, Richards had no idea she had other siblings or even the thought to look for any.
She grew up with their biological parents, Jack and Jean, until their dad passed away when she was 6.
"I was nine or 10 years old," said Richards." My mother remarried, and I have siblings from there, but knowing that I had full-blooded, you know, siblings from my birth parents, I had no idea."
As a child, Richards' mother told her about a couple of pregnancies and siblings but had said the children died, including an older brother Jack.
Since the DNA test, Richards and Marshall have found at least three other siblings.
"I then found our younger brother James in 2017," said Marshall.
"Almost a year exactly a year later," said Richards.
"He's also a full sibling," said Marshall. "He was also given up for adoption. I found our sister, Susie, in 2020. She's a year and a half younger than I am. She was also born in Phoenix and given up for adoption. She sadly passed away this past December of cancer."
Just this year, in June, they found their older brother Jack alive and living in Fresno.
On Tuesday, the women were headed to Central California for another long-awaited reunion.
The sisters are on the road right now from Arizona, where they held a memorial service for their younger sister Susie who died late last year.
They will meet their older brother Jack on Wednesday.
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