Chilean brothers reunite with mother 41 years after being stolen at birth

Two brothers who were separated from their mother at a hospital and illegally handed over to families in the United States during the military rule of Augusto Pinochet in Chile have reunited with her after 41 years. Teresa de Jesus Padilla, 66, who had endured decades of separation from her children, was finally able to embrace her sons. Tim Rolnik, 41, and Travis Murdoch, 37, grew up in the United States.

Although they knew they had been raised by another family, they did not know the full circumstances of their separation. In 2020, Rolnik discovered through a DNA test that his biological family was in Chile. With the help of relatives and organisations working to reunite separated families, he later learned that his two brothers were also living in the United States.

His twin brothers, Travis and Chris, had also been separated from their mother four years later and placed with an American couple. After the three brothers got in touch, they developed a close relationship. Six years after their initial contact, Rolnik and Travis travelled to Chile to meet their mother.