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MISSOURI — An Olivette family is the subject of a story full of joy and mystery. Forty-nine years ago, a woman was told her daughter had died just after hours after being born. But on Thursday, the mother and daughter were reunited, both very much alive.
Zella Jackson Price, 76, met her daughter, Melanie Diane Gilmore, in person for the first time at Price's home in Olivette.
"There's nothing greater. There's nothing greater than this. Nothing," Price said.
Earlier, Melanie arrived with her own daughter and son at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport from Oregon and that's where Melanie met her brother, Harvey, also for the first time.
This story begins at the old Homer G. Phillips Hospital. Shortly after delivering her baby, Zella Price was told the infant died. But Melanie was alive and for some unknown reason, adopted by another family.
Zella Price is hurt by the years of separation, but thankful for this second chance.
"(God) has given me everything the devil has taken from me," Price said. "I'm getting it back. I'm getting my baby back."
Gilmore lost her hearing at the age of three because a of childhood illnesses. This reunion is something she's wanted for a long time.
"I am just so happy…very excited," she said.
Gilmore's children knew about their mom's wish. They used the Internet and a name to follow that Melanie apparently received from her adoptive parents. The kids eventually found Zella Price.
For more updates on this story, visit KTVI St. Louis.
