
In 1995, Maria Mancia came home from work to find her 18-month-old son, Steve, missing.
She soon made an unsettling discovery: The boy’s father, Valentin Hernandez, had kidnapped him and ransacked her California home. Documents and heirlooms, including Steve’s baby pictures and even an ultrasound photo, were gone.
For 21 years, Mancia wondered what happened to her boy: What was he doing? What did he look like? Would he remember me?
On Thursday, she got her answer.
Mancia and her now-22-year-old son were reunited by the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office after a painstaking search for the boy that led them…
More Must-Reads from TIME
- Cybersecurity Experts Are Sounding the Alarm on DOGE
- Meet the 2025 Women of the Year
- The Harsh Truth About Disability Inclusion
- Why Do More Young Adults Have Cancer?
- Colman Domingo Leads With Radical Love
- How to Get Better at Doing Things Alone
- Michelle Zauner Stares Down the Darkness
Contact us at letters@time.com