Wilson County man celebrates first Father's Day with birth daughter thanks to DNA testing kit

On Father's Day, one North Carolina woman was able to celebrate her biological father through a special Zoom call all because of a DNA testing kit.

James Williams and his girlfriend knew they couldn’t care for their daughter after she was born, so they gave her up for adoption.

”We were in a place where we couldn’t take care of [her] and we did not want anything bad to happen," said Williams. "It was a hard decision for us, a very hard decision."

The hard decision has stayed with him.

After a few family members connected through 23 and Me, James decided to send in a DNA sample to learn more about his heritage. That curiosity would lead to so much more.

Sarah Beth always knew she was adopted, but she never gave up hope she would one day find her birth parents.

"I’ve gone through a few times in my life where I really did the legwork trying to find out who my birth parents were," said Beth.

Her mom gave her a 23 and Me test so she could learn more about her heritage, but she was hoping she’d find out more than just that.

”As I was filling it out I was hopeful, but I certainly didn’t expect it to work. The minute that I got it back I could see I had a 50% match," said Beth. ”I wrote an email to [Williams] about 10 minutes after I saw it for the first time."

Williams was equally in disbelief.

”Getting an email from 23 and Me saying 'You’re my dad'? This has got to be a scam,'" said Williams.

But it wasn’t. It was his daughter.

They only live four hours away from each other, James in Sims in Wilson County and Sarah Beth in Asheville.

Last November, they met for the first time in their lives, and on this Father’s Day, Beth has a message for her birth father.

"I love you so much. I couldn’t be luckier to know you and have you in my family and I can’t wait to see you again," said Beth.