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RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) — Steve and Janine Hamilton have always felt deeply connected to their adopted daughter, but that connection was felt even more deeply this year when the family discovered that she is, in fact, a blood relative.
The Hamiltons adopted Sarah, who recently married and took McBride as her last name, nine years ago when they lived in Kansas City.
Sarah, now 19, was born in Texas and was being raised in Kansas City before she went into the foster care system at the age of 8 with her siblings.
In the meantime, the Hamiltons had checked into adoption but weren’t counting on anything happening because they were beginning a move to Rapid City.
Instead, just a couple months before the move, they got a call about Sarah, an 11-year-old who needed a home. She joined them in August of 2003, and the family moved to South Dakota that October.
It was good timing, Janine said, because it gave Sarah a fresh start in a new home that also was new to the rest of the family. Steve and Janine had three biological children at home.
At that time, Steve said, “We had no clue,” that their new daughter could be related to them.