Reunited: Former Sikeston resident finds long-lost birth family after nearly 50 years apart

Troy Whitaker Shaw, right, of Eureka, Kan., greets Tonya Whitaker Kellett, on Jan. 1. Kellett was kidnapped by her father in 1966, who gave her to a family in Sikeston, Mo. In December, thanks to Ancestry.Com, she was reunited with her biological sister. Photo courtesy of Robin Wunderlich, The Eureka Herald

EUREKA, Kan. - For many, the start of a new year is all about resolutions and setting goals. But for the family of Tonya (Whitaker) Kellett, Jan. 1 was the day they reunited with the loved one they lost nearly 50 years ago.

On Jan. 1, Tonya made the nine and a half hour trip from Hendersonville, Tenn., to Eureka, where she was united with a sister she hadn't seen since 1966, as well as many other family members.

Kellett and her sister, Troy (Whitaker) Shaw, of Eureka, were separated in June of 1966, when they were just 4 years and 18-months-old, respectively. Their parents, Doris Winn and Jay Whitaker, were going through a divorce.

The life-altering event took place when their mother took the girls to visit their aunt in Coffey County. The girls' father abducted Tonya from the home, changed her name and birthday, and two years later gave her to a family in Sikeston, Mo., who later adopted her.

Secrets and lies

Being 4 years old at the time, Kellett has vague memories of the day she was taken from her mother. She remembers a woman with dark black hair with the popular bee-hive style hair-do and a young child (now known as Troy) standing next to her in a door way.

Their father later told Kellett that her mother and sister were killed in a car crash.

For the full story see the Standard Democrat's Weekender edition.