Karen Warner of Elwood, Indiana, knew since she was a kid that she was adopted, but it wasn't until she was in her 50s that she found out she had a twin brother who lives down the street.
“I always felt like there was something missing in my life. I’m sure he can vouch for that, too, but I didn’t know what. I had no idea it was a twin," Warner told WISH.
Warner and her brother Michael Jackman grew up pretty close to each other despite not knowing they were siblings. They both grew up in Elwood and went to the same middle school and high school. They were even in band class together and were friends.
Neither had any clue that they shared DNA until Warner started doing research into her biological family in 2019. After going through Indiana adoption records, she found out she had a twin who was raised by a different family.
Warner continued her research into public records when Jackman's name came up as her possible sibling. She asked him on Facebook if he was adopted and what he knew about his birth family, and his answers were similar to what Warner found.
“I didn’t know I had a sister, let alone a twin sister,” Jackman told ABC 10.
The took a DNA test to confirm they were a match, and the siblings have been catching up since then. They're realizing how much they have in common, including a love of pets and NASCAR, and that they both had traumatic brain injuries in the past. Warner even found out that Jackman lives six blocks away from her apartment.
The siblings said they are a little bit overwhelmed at finding each other after all these years. Warner continued looking into her biological family and also found three half siblings.
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