Before Houston, Texas firefighter discovered the truth about his birth family, Tyler Graf said he was just a regular 38-year-old man with a family.

Thankfully, he'd been adopted by a loving family as a little guy--which is a true blessing, of course. However he told ABC13 that after becoming a father himself he began wondering about where his story began...

"I was adopted by a very loving, caring family," Graf said. "I think it was just knowing that my story did start before I was adopted. So, it's kind of like missing the first five minutes of the movie." ~Tyler Graf

As the Houston, Texas firefighter continued his search, he finally received a call that would change his life forever.

As it turns out, Tyler Graf was actually stolen from his mother after he was born. As shocking as that may be, he wasn't the only one.

You may have heard about the practice of "coercive adoptions" that took place in Chile throughout the 1970s and 80s. At the time, a dictator named Augusto Pinochet was in power. During this time, ABC13 reports "thousands of babies were taken and trafficked around the world through a complex network that included hospitals, the Catholic church and the Chilean government."

And the most disturbing part of this may be that it wasn't a criminal element engaging in this. It has been reported that physicians, midwives, social care workers, and even judges were aware at the time.

And what about the American families who adopted these babies? Allegedly, most of them did not realize their adopted baby was "stolen."

Tyler Graf's birth mother is a woman named Hilda Quezada Godoy who said once she realized her baby had lived, she wanted to "scream." She'd been told her baby had died after his birth. She shared how'd she'd wondered if he'd be well-cared for. Thankfully, at least in Tyler's case, he was.

Since this revelation, Tyler Graf has visited Chile and even met some long-lost sisters he didn't even know he had.
A happy ending to a difficult story. You can learn more via this video:


Thankful for Tyler Graf and his entire family. Do you have an adoption story you'd like to share? Send me a message at tara.holley@townsquaremedia.com.

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One Tyler, TX Man Wants Historic Brick Streets Torn Up, All of Tyler Reacts

I've always enjoyed them, it's fun to say "on the brick streets" on the radio. Red Dirt BBQ & Music Festival is 25% cooler when it's on the brick streets of downtown Tyler as opposed to just downtown Tyler. On top of that it's something that helps set The Rose City apart from other towns.

But, I suppose if you live on them or have to drive down them daily it could get... umm.. bumpy? Look, I'm trying to stay neutral here, but it's hard to because I definitely have an opinion. How about we dive into what other folks had to say about the suggestion to tear them up.

 

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