Twins separated in foster care reunite after 60 years

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Twins who were sent to separate foster homes at age 14 recently reunited in Springfield after losing touch for 60 years.

RoseMarie Henson and Rosalie Turner found their way back to one another this month with the help of family and DNA testing, the Springfield News-Leader reported.

The 73-year-old sisters said they never lost hope they would reconnect after being split up and sent to different foster homes in California decades ago.

Both Henson and Turner said they felt a hole in their hearts ever since they were separated.

"It was painful," Henson said. "It was very painful because we always did things together and we talk alike and did everything."

Turner's daughter, Tina Henderson, started looking for her mother's twin after a family member completed a DNA test through Ancestry.com.

Henderson said she and her cousin were eventually able to locate Henson in Springfield.

Henderson set up a phone call for the sisters.

"When I picked up the phone, I said 'Hello' and she says 'Hello,' and I say, 'She sounds like me,'" Turner said. "We talked so long we forgot how long it was."

Henson said she felt "happy and shocked, but excited."

Turner's daughters eventually drove her through the night from Longview, Texas, to reunite with her sister in Springfield.

Turner said her legs were shaking when she got out of the car to hug Henson.

"We kind of broke down, but we're OK," Turner said. "We've been having fun ever since. We were so far apart, and all these years, we were doing the same things. That's what amazes me so much."

The twins discovered after they were separated, they were often still near each other.

"She would be in some of those towns, too, at the same time, but we couldn't connect," Henson said. "We started laughing and said, 'Gosh, how come we couldn't find this out?'"

They also found out they had many similarities in their lives over the years. They both married young and held the same jobs. Both of their husbands have also passed away.

"We wish they were alive right now to see this," Turner said. "They had a big hand in it. We wish they were here."

Henson said she would pray every day to see her twin before she died. Turner said she prayed for the same thing.

"We used to say before we turned 75, 'Lord, let us see each other,'" Turner said. "We're going to be 74 in June. The Lord blessed us."

The twins plan to celebrate their upcoming June birthday together in Texas.

Henson encouraged others who are searching for lost siblings to hold out hope.

"Don't give up," Henson said. "No matter how old they are or young, don't give up. One way or the other. Through the grace of God, it'll work."

Information from: Springfield News-Leader, http://www.news-leader.com