She took a DNA test to find out her heritage. What she found was a decades-old secret her mother never planned to share
CTV
A Saskatchewan woman took a DNA test and made a shocking discovery: her long-lost twin brothers.
In a quest to confirm an Indigenous strand in her ancestry, a 63-year-old woman discovered something else: her twin brothers she never knew existed, who lived only a drive away.
CTV News asked readers to share their experiences with 23andMe, Ancestry, MyHeritage and other genealogy websites. These websites surfaced stories of uncovering family secrets, locating long-lost relatives and exploring family trees. Nearly 100 people responded to our callout.
One of those was Pam Currie, who resides in Esterhazy, Sask.
Curious about her ethnicity and looking to validate the Indigenous background her grandmother spoke briefly about, Currie joined Ancestry.ca in 2009. But it wasn't until December 2018 that Currie's husband, Paul, decided it was time for her to do the site's DNA test.
The results came back two months later, and Currie received a five per cent Indigenous match.
When DNA is submitted, Currie explained, the genealogy site notifies you of any matches with other members of the site, and gives information on that connection, such as whether a match is a first, second or third cousin.
"I recognized lots of names there. It was funny, I just had a feeling of trepidation about doing it. I was kind of scared because you just never know what you're going to find," Currie said in an interview with CTVNews.ca.
