My Birth Father's Family Ghosted Us — So I'm Speaking Out

In this episode of Finding Family DNA, Jay and co-host Misty Gillis introduce Carla Salvatierra, a 29-year-old woman born in Los Angeles County who has spent years searching for the truth about her biological father. After discovering that neither the man on her birth certificate nor the man her family insisted was her father shared any DNA with her, Carla found herself starting completely from scratch — with no name, no country, and no answers. With the help of Misty's careful DNA analysis and genealogical research into Guatemalan civil records, the team was able to narrow Carla's birth father down to one of three brothers living in the United States. Despite sending letters and making direct contact with one of the brothers, the family has gone silent — and in a first for the show, Carla comes on air to make a heartfelt, tearful plea directly to her birth father. A devoted mother of two who runs her own construction company, Carla isn't asking for money or a lifelong commitment — she simply wants to know where she comes from, see her father's face, and finally have the medical history her children deserve.

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https://youtu.be/A3QY9_5aDf8

00:00 Intro

00:11 Welcome and case overview

00:51 When DNA matches don't respond

01:07 Misty's outreach strategy

02:16 Introducing Carla Salvatierra

03:02 Growing up not knowing her father

04:38 DNA tests rule out two possible fathers

08:03 What led Carla to BirthParentFinder