Local Man Celebrates Family Reunion Anniversary After Early Separation
/Local realtor and paralegal Colin Elsby went through most of his life without knowing his biological family but marked his two-year anniversary of reuniting with his sisters on Thursday.
During their first reunion, the siblings cooked and played board games as their first activities together at the Airbnb. Photo courtesy of Colin Elsby.
He found his sisters through social media three years ago citing his biological aunt as a mutual friend that made the connection. He only had first names and birthdates as his only clues of his sisters.
“I did some digging and everything popped up. My sisters found the same aunt (we had) on Facebook 10 years prior to me finding her,” said Elsby. “ We didn’t know each other aside from first names and birthdates. I honestly never thought I’d meet and find them.”
He first connected with them when he saw a friend request from his sister on Facebook.
The 24-year old met his sisters for the first time at an Airbnb in Leamington, Ont. — since one sister lives in Windsor and the other in Tilbury, Ont. — where the experience was so overwhelming that the actual meeting was the opposite according to Elsby.
“It was such a calming and natural connection,” he said. “There was a possibility that we may not have clicked but it was surprisingly natural and it wasn’t super eventful, to be honest.”
Fran Reaume (left), Jennifer Reaume (middle) and Colin Elsby (right) all share the same biological mother. Photo Courtesy of Colin Elsby.
