Father, son reunited by DNA test after 57 years apart

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Monday, April 26, 2021
Father, son reunited by DNA test after 57 years apart
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A father and son who have not seen each other in nearly 60 years reunited in Myrtle Beach over the weekend.

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. -- A father and son who have not seen each other in nearly 60 years reunited in Myrtle Beach over the weekend.

Richard McCleary had not seen his son, Jimmy, since he was small enough to hold.

"I held him twice, and it's been a hole in my heart for 57 years," he said in an interview with a local ABC affiliate.

Jimmy's mother put him up for adoption shortly after his birth.

Decades later, Jimmy took a DNA test hoping to find his biological father. The database found a possible match.

That match was Richard McCleary, who now lives in South Carolina. Although, interestingly, until recently when McCleary moved, the father and son had been living just 30 minutes apart.

The newly reunited family now said they're spending some time together, getting to know each other and making up for lost time.