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DNA test reunites Virginia Beach military veteran with biological family

Cassandra Waite has an emotional reunion with her biological family after a DNA test helped track them down.

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Her whole life, Cassandra Waite knew she was adopted.

She was born on Mother's Day and adopted as an infant, on Father's Day. Her adoptive mother, Judy Palmer, brought Waite to her home in Connecticut from the Dominican Republic.

Waite grew up as an only child, but she always wanted to find her biological family.

“It's been terrible. It's been a big run around of people don't know who my family is, who my dad is, who my mom is,” said Waite.

Last Christmas, Waite, a military veteran who lives in Virginia Beach, received the DNA Test ‘23AndMe’ from her adoptive mom.

In Mid-January she found out she has a cousin that lives in her hometown, Connecticut. So, she reached out to him on social media.

"I sent baby photos to him because that would be the one way that everybody knew me,” said Waite. "And he said ok, this is your family."

From that moment on, she knew she was no longer an only child but the second oldest out of eight siblings.

Through video chat, Waite finally met her dad, Adriano Luna.

"He said I've been looking for you since the day we gave you up for adoption and he said I didn't know where to look. I didn't know where to start,” Waite said.

She said resources in the Dominican Republic are slim and her parents struggled to feed their kids, which is why she went up for adoption.

“We were very poor, and my mom passed away from a heart attack and a lot of people believe she died of a broken heart because she was looking for me this whole time and never knew," Waite told 13News Now.

Waite couldn't wait to meet her new family, so she raised money on GoFundMe to fly to the Dominican Republic for the first time.

Her entire family showed up in t-shirts with her face on them, Waite said through tears. Even though her family doesn’t speak English and she doesn't speak Spanish, the connection is strong.

Waite said she's engaged now and all she wants is for her father to be here to walk her down the aisle.

"Without 23andMe, I wouldn't have been able to find them,” said Waite.

Her father got a passport immediately after meeting her. Waite said he’s also applied for a Visa.

On this first try, he was denied because Waite said he didn’t get to explain one of the questions he had to answer, but she got an immigration attorney and hopes he’ll be here in time for the big day on May 25th.

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