Ohio Woman Learns She Works at the Same Company as Biological Mom She's Searched For
Ohio woman searching for her biological mother learns they've worked together.
— -- A woman in Ohio reunited with her biological mother who has worked at the same company for the past four years, unbeknown to either of them.
La-Sonya Mitchell-Clark, 38, of Youngstown, learned her mother's identity after the Ohio Department of Health released birth records last month for those born between Jan. 1, 1964 and Sept. 18, 1996.
“Ever since I found out that I was adopted, I wanted to know who my biological mother was,” Mitchell-Clark told ABC affiliate station WYTV.
She received her birth record in the mail Monday from the Department of Health in Columbus. That included her mother’s name, Francine Simmons. She searched for the name on Facebook and found out they worked at the same company, InfoCision, a privately held teleservices firm in Boardman, just south of Youngstown.
“There’s a Francine that works at my job. She works in VR and she works at the front desk,” Mitchell-Clark told WYTV, referring to volunteer recruitment, a nonprofit fundraising program that asks supporters to recruit friends and family.
Mitchell-Clark contacted friends through social media and, then, a day later, she received a call from her birth mother. Mitchell-Clark has worked for InfoCision for four years, while her mother has been there for 10 years, a company spokeswoman told ABC News.
"They would come in contact around the building and during events such as our corporate summer cookouts, parties, and using the facilities or in the hallway," said Samantha Wells, an InfoCision spokeswoman who called the reunion "wonderful."
“She called me and I said, ‘Is this Ms. Francine?’ She said, ‘Yes.’ I said, ‘I think I’m your daughter,’” Mitchell-Clark told WYTV, adding that there were tears of joy.
The duo learned they live just six minutes from each other.
“I’m still in shock. It’s amazing,” Simmons told WYTV, adding that she had always wanted to meet her daughter but didn't know how to do so.
“I got pregnant when I was 14. I had her when I was 15. I was put in a home, a girl’s home. Had her. Got to hold her. Didn’t get to name her, but I named her myself in my heart all these years,” Simmons said.
Mitchell-Clark learned she has three sisters, with one of whom she works.
“I feel a sense of relief for my mother,” her sister, Kamala Cummings, told WYTV. She's worked at InfoCision for 10 years and in the same division as her mother, but separate from that of Mitchell-Clark.
Another sister, Maisha Cummings, told the station, “It’s just amazing that all this time we’re thinking about her and trying to find her and she was trying to find us, too.”
Mitchell-Clark and Simmons did not respond to requests for comment.
Mitchell-Clark told the TV station her adoptive parents support the reunion.
“My mom and dad have always been supportive of me," she said. "[They’ve] always encouraged me to look for them. They’re going to be a part of this, too."
Simmons told WYTV, “Now, we’ve got a bigger extended family where we can just be together.”
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