Stockton woman hopes social media can reunite her with brother separated in foster care
STOCKTON, Calif. (KTVU) - A Stockton woman hopes social media can help find her youngest brother who was lost in the foster care system after she and her siblings were separated decades ago.
Reina Tornero is the eldest of eight kids and says before the family was split up, they all relied on each other.
"We grew up in a small place, so we were all really close and we depended on each other," Tornero told KTXL. "My five youngest siblings all got adopted by different families. Two got paired together and then there were three others."
The three oldest children remained in foster care until they aged out.
KTXL reports that over the years Tornero has been able to reconnect with four of the five siblings that were adopted. Mostly all, except for their youngest brother, Manuel, born July 20, 1999.
"He was six months old, I think, the last time I saw him," Tornero said.
Her brother Chris was the first sibling she found seven years ago, but last year he died of cancer.
"Life is really short and we always thought we had until we were old to do this, or we had forever to reach out to our siblings and let them live their lives," Tornero said. "But if we don't take the chance now, we may never get the chance."
Tornero doesn't want to waste any more time, so she's turning to social media for help -- setting up a Facebook page and Instagram account to ask for help in finding her youngest brother, KTXL said.
Tornero has run into some roadblocks. She learned that his name may have been changed to Camero and he could be living in another state.
"People are asking, ‘Why are you looking for him if he hasn't reached out to you? Don't you think there's a reason?' And honestly, when I reached out to Brendon and Bryan, the two oldest of the five, they were excited that I found them and reached out to them because they thought we just forgot about them," Tornero expressed.
"People are asking, ‘Why are you looking for him if he hasn't reached out to you? Don't you think there's a reason?' And honestly, when I reached out to Brendon and Bryan, the two oldest of the five, they were excited that I found them and reached out to them because they thought we just forgot about them," Tornero expressed.
Tornero says she just wants Manuel to know, that she and the rest of his older siblings care.
"That we're looking for him, and we're excited to see what kind of man he grew up to be and what he looks like."