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Facebook Reunites Mother With Long-Lost Son

Posted by samzenpus on from the friends-and-missing-children-list dept.

Avril Grube's three-year-old son Gavin was taken by his father over 27 years ago. Gavin was taken to Hungary and despite appeals to the Hungarian embassy in London, the British embassy in Budapest and an appeal to Margaret Thatcher, the boy was never returned. Last October Avril's sister typed the boy's name into Google and found a link to someone of that name on Facebook. Several weeks later mother and son were reunited. "I couldn't sleep, I just sat waiting for him to arrive. Even though it has been nearly 30 years, when I first saw him I recognized him, he has my eyes. I was so overcome and just said 'my beautiful son' over and over again. He was very quiet and overwhelmed. We just hugged each other. It is the happiest day of my life, there are almost no words to describe it," Avril said.

5 comments

  1. URL? by antdude · · Score: 1

    No link to the happy story? :P

    --
    Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
    1. Re:URL? by asdf7890 · · Score: 1

      It was covered on the BBC: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/dorset/8072914.stm

      The story was no doubt other news outlets too but the Beeb is generally my second source, after http://newsarse.com/

  2. ditto by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This has happened to me in reverse, though it was not a happy reunion.

  3. Elucidarian by Elucidarian · · Score: 1

    They are clearly showing a myspace page, not facebook, in that BBC piece.

    1. Re:Elucidarian by asdf7890 · · Score: 1

      Aye. I wonder if it was a genuine mistake on the BBCs part (if the people being interviewed said "facebook" because they don't know the difference (or the difference is inconsequential to them) would the reporter know to check/correct?) or a deliberate preference towards no mentioning any of Rupert Murdoch's empire in a good light?! (for those that don't know: Mr Murdoch has been generally critical of the BBC in a number of speeches/interviews in recent years)