New friends discover they are long lost brothers


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WASHINGTON, Mo. — Two boys who met at a pool this summer and became fast friends soon learned they were much more: long-lost brothers.

Isaac Pettet-Nolting, 12, and Dakotah Zimmer, 13, noticed when they met just how much they looked alike — their hands, feet, noses, and even haircuts were similar. And the story didn't end there: when someone asked if the two were brothers, Dakotah said he did, in fact, have a brother he had never met who was adopted by a woman named Dawn.

"That's my mom's name," Isaac said. He he later asked his mother if he was adopted, and told her he thought he had found his brother. Dawn Nolting told him he had, and both burst into tears.

"I just cried and cried and cried," Isaac told TODAY.com. "I was so happy that I had a brother. I always asked for one."

Nolting told TODAY.com Isaac came into her life when she was on her way to dinner years ago with her ex-husband and their then 11-year-old daughter, Krystyn. They ran into a friend of Nolting's ex, who invited them to meet his girlfriend and newborn son, who turned out to be Isaac.

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Isaac's mother was a teen with a 1-year-old son, and Nolting said she could tell the girl was overwhelmed, so she offered to take the boy home to give the mom a break. Over the next few months, the teen called and visited often, but never took Isaac home again.

A few months later, the teen and her mother visited Nolting. The girl was pregnant again, and wanted to know if Nolting would adopt Isaac. She did. Both Isaac's biological mother and father died within a year of one another in 2007 and 2008, leaving Dakotah and his 10-year-old sister, Ashley, to live with their maternal grandmother, Debi Bay.

Isaac and Dakotah spend a lot of time together now, according to TODAY.com.

"You can just tell they're brothers," Nolting said. She said she never told Isaac he was adopted because she didn't know how, even after seeking advice from friends and experts. "It's the strongest bond that I've ever seen. It's like they were never separated. For being apart for 10 years and 20 minutes away, they picked up right where they left off."

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Stephanie Grimes

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