A Fort Worth woman who was abducted as a baby more than half a century ago and recently reunited with her family is finally getting her old name back.
In front of a judge on Wednesday, with her parents by her side, Melissa Highsmith officially changed her name back to the one given to her at birth.
"It's like God has given me a second chance at life. It's like I'm starting over,” she said.
Melissa was abducted as an infant by her babysitter 51 years ago. Despite her family immediately contacting the police and beginning an exhaustive search, she was never found.
Get DFW local news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC DFW newsletters.
“I just believed that wherever she was, that’s where God wanted her,” her mother Alta Apantenco said.
Melissa, now 53, ended up living a difficult life under a new name, Melanie Walden. She never knew her true family was searching for her all these years.
“We have been rejoicing, we all know it’s happening. God is putting his faithfulness and love and power on full display," said family pastor Shane Gray at the courthouse on Wednesday. "In the darkest nights of Melissa‘s life, she was not alone. In the most hopeless moments of the Highsmith’s search for their daughter, there was hope.”
Posters and flyers were circulated for years. An age-progressed photo by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children was even released later on but leads, some in other parts of the country, were dead ends.
"We had several times rechecked some leads, but they were nothing,” Alta said.
Local
The latest news from around North Texas.
Over the years as her parents grew older, Melissa’s siblings took over the search. They helped Melissa’s father, Jeffrie Highsmith, take a DNA test with 23andMe to see where it took them in their search.
It was a success. A match was found with one of Melissa’s three children. Soon, the Highsmith family learned Melissa had been living in the Fort Worth area the entire time.
"And to know that she was here all these years, it's disappointing,” said Alta. “But I’m happy that we’re together again. I’m just really excited about what’s going to come.”
She reunited with her parents and several siblings just before the holidays. The Highsmith family shared their reunion story with NBC 5 in November 2022.
"It was hope that brought Melissa home. It really was prayer and hope,” said Melissa’s brother, Jeffrie. “It’s a dream come true.”
The family has been making up for lost time ever since. Melissa has been meeting four siblings and droves of nephews, nieces, uncles, aunts and cousins.
Her cousin Jannae Hayes, who held onto a picture of themselves as infants playing in a crib, ended up naming her own daughter after Melissa.
"She's our missing puzzle piece, she was the piece that was always missing and now our family is complete.”
Melissa’s sister, Victoria
“I don’t think we ever thought we would find her. So to find her and get her back and for her to be able to get her name back that they stole from her. It’s a special day today.”
Just two weeks ago, Fort Worth police officially confirmed Melissa's identity through their own DNA testing, which allowed her to change her name in court.
"I feel fantastic getting her name back to where it should've been after all these years,” said Melissa’s father, Jeffrie.
Melissa said she now plans to get a passport in her official name so she can go visit another sibling who happens to live in Spain.
She also plans to hold another wedding ceremony with her husband using her new name ... So that her real father can walk her down the aisle.
"I just know God was with me watching over me. It gives me goosebumps. He heard their prayers and everything,” Melissa said of the experience. "It's just indescribable. I'm on top of the world."
