For almost 50 years Louise McOrmond-Plummer felt she didn’t bare any resemblance to her family.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
The Lavington woman acted on those instincts and realised they were right when she found her biological dad and six half-siblings.
She grew up with her mum, four siblings and a man she thought was her father.
However, two weeks ago, she made contact with her genetic father, Alan, for the first time.
Ms McOrmond-Plummer said the journey began when she read about a simple DNA test in a magazine last year.
“I sent photos of myself to my father and he knew I was his daughter as soon as he saw them,” Ms McOrmond-Plummer said.
“He said it was like looking into his own eyes.
“It gives you a real sense of completeness.
“Seeing my features in other people was incredible.”
Ms McOrmond-Plummer suspected there might have been another father but couldn’t get the truth out of her mother.
She took a DNA test with the sister she grew up with and found out they were actually half-sisters.
After taking tests through three US databases, she finally discovered a half-sister who was able to lead her to Alan, who lives in Rosebud, and six other siblings.
Knowing the full picture, she has come to realise between her mother and father she is one of 11 siblings.
“I got in contact with her (my half-sister) and she looked so much like me,” Ms McOrmond-Plummer
“After she told me my father’s name I looked him up on the electoral role and wrote to him two weeks ago.
“He called and we had a lovely talk, he was a larrikin.
“It was absolutely amazing, like I could feel my heart filling up. Although I didn’t know him, we had a real connection.”
The pair have exchanged emails, sent photos and shared some of their favourite songs with each other.
Ms McOrmond-Plummer said the family was spread out around Australia and she intended to meet most of them early next year.
“I really think this kind of DNA testing is the greatest hope people have when searching for unknown relatives,” she said.
“You can order a test and they mail it to you. You spit in a tube, put it in the box and send it back.”
Ms McOrmond-Plummer took DNA tests with ancestry.com, familytreedna.com and 23andme.com before finding out her full story.
She then used the Facebook group DNA Detectives to interpret her results.
While she said not everyone’s story had a happy ending, she wanted to speak about her experience to help others who are trying to find family.
