Woman says she has DNA to show she was 7-year-old child who went missing 21 years ago

Internet search led to revelation, says former foster child

Kaylynn Stevenson says she is missing child Brittany Williams (abc12 news)

A woman in Indiana has said she has the DNA evidence to prove that she is Brittany Williams, a seven-year-old child who went missing from a foster home in 2000 with AIDS.

Katlynn Stevenson, who says she has the results from a DNA test to prove that she is Brittany, told NBC12 News in an interview that she was the seven-year-old old, who officials “weren’t looking in the right state” for.

Brittany was thought to have run away from her foster home in Henrico County, Virginia, which was run by Kim Parker – who told officials she had sent Brittany to live with a couple in California. Authorities said at the time that Parker took in more than 50 children with disabilities and illnesses at her home, before she was sentenced for fraud through her charity, Rainbow Kids.

Ms Stevenson said she spent “a lot of going back and forth to Richmond, Virginia to Columbus, Ohio,” in the search for her family history, and that her memory of her childhood was unclear.

“The room I used to be in was like a pastel-pink type room,” she told NBC12. “I will always remember this one little boy who was in a wheelchair. He was non-verbal. He was a sweetheart”.

Ms Stevenson, who has a resemblance to the images of seven-year-old Brittany, said she also remembered a feeding tube inserted being into her, and has a scar on her stomach to show it.

Brittany was treated for AIDS as a child after her mother died of the illness, which was typically passed on to 25 per cent of babies with AIDS-positive mothers at the time.

Images of missing Brittany Renee Williams (charleyproject.org)

Ms Stevenson, who said her adoptive parents provided no information about her adoption, said that she did not have AIDS and had been tested. Her birth certificate also differs to that of Brittany, it was reported.

The revelation came after Ms Stevenson searched for “missing children” and the name “Williams”, and realised that images of missing Brittany were “me”.

Her wife, Ladajah Kelly, also believed the images of Ms Stevenson and said: “From the hairline to the ears, to the smile, to the chin. Even the mole on her neck... I started putting the pieces together that that was really her.”

Henrico County Police, who thought Brittany would have died without AIDS medication, have allegedly taken a DNA sample from Ms Stevenson. As have the FBI.

It remains unclear if Ms Stevenson is the same person as the missing child.

In a statement to The Independent, the Henrico County Police Division said it was aware of Ms Stevenson’s interview and that the investigation into Brittany’s disappearance remained active.

“The Henrico County Police Division is committed to a thorough investigation into this cold case and any new leads. We are actively investigating and working alongside our Federal partners,” said lieutenant Matthew Pecka.