Chicago Tribune

Genealogy sites are helping birth parents find children they placed for adoption — but not everyone wants to be found

DeAnn Link is searching for her daughter. She'd be 23 years old now.

Link said she gave birth in a Chicago hospital in 1996 at age 18, and the baby was placed with an adoptive family.

She has searched for her on LinkedIn, Google and through websites that allow birth parents and adoptees to register with contact information. But years of searching has led to nothing.

"It's kind of frustrating," she said. "I know she's out there, and I know I'll find her soon. The more I try, the more I put myself out there, the more she'll be able to see it."

Up next to try? A genealogy website. Link and other

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from Chicago Tribune

Chicago Tribune4 min read
Commentary: Was Sweden’s COVID-19 Approach Superior To That Of The US?
COVID-19 cases and deaths internationally have fallen to their lowest levels in four years. The data now permits a comparison between the controversial laissez faire strategy of Sweden and the more restrictive approach of the United States, which emp
Chicago Tribune6 min read
In Memoriam: As A ’90s Producer And Music Tastemaker, Steve Albini Was Brutally Honest — And Usually Right
CHICAGO — Steve Albini, who died on Tuesday in Chicago at 61, talked a lot. Like, a lot a lot. The first time I met him was about 30 years ago. I was a graduate student at Northwestern University and assigned to interview somebody, and I had just bou
Chicago Tribune6 min read
Tiny Pieces Of Plastic Pose One Of The Biggest Threats To Chicago River Wildlife And Water Quality
CHICAGO — Wendella engineer Miguel Chavez climbed down a ladder and over a small dock Wednesday to pull up a trap floating in the Chicago River near the Michigan Avenue Bridge. The size of a standard garbage can, the trap is designed to collect trash

Related Books & Audiobooks