Adopted Woman Seeking Birth Mother Discovers They've Been Co-Workers for 4 YearsThough the two worked in different departments at InfoCision, an Ohio teleservices firm, 'they would come in contact around the building and during events,' a company spokesperson said.

ByGeoff Weiss

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Ever since La-Sonya Mitchell-Clark found out that she was adopted, the 38-year-old Ohio native has wanted to learn the identity of her biological mom.

And when Ohio's Department of Health decided to release a long-sealed trove of birth records last month for residents born between Jan. 1, 1964 and Sept. 18, 1996, Mitchell-Clark received the serendipitous surprise of a lifetime.

Her birth mother, Francine Simmons, is actually a colleague at InfoCision -- a local teleservices firm where the two have unknowingly worked together for the past four years. And that's not all: Mitchell-Clark also discovered that she has three sisters -- one of whom also works at InfoCision.

When Mitchell-Clark first received her birth records in the mail on Monday and saw the name Francine Simmons, she immediately plugged it into Facebook. Suddenly, everything clicked. "There's a Francine that works at my job,"Mitchell-Clark told ABC News. "She works in [volunteer recruitment] and she works at the front desk."

Related:A Business Owner's Act of Kindness Inspires the Internet, Sparks Larger Campaign

Though the two are in different departments -- and Mitchell-Clark has been with the company for four years while Simmons has been with InfoCision for 10 -- "they would come in contact around the building and during events such as our corporate summer cookouts, parties and using the facilities or in the hallway," a company spokesperson said.

Following a tearful reunion, the two also discovered that they live just six minutes away from one another.

"I got pregnant when I was 14. I had her when I was 15," explains Simmons, who said she always wanted to reconnect with her daughter but never knew how. "I was put in a home -- a girl's home. Had her. Got to hold her. Didn't get to name her. But I named her myself in my heart all these years."

Mitchell-Clark added that her adoptive parents were wholeheartedly in support of the reunion. "They're going to be a part of this, too," she said.

Related:NFL Names 41-Year-Old Mother of Three Its First Full-Time Female Referee

Wavy Line
Geoff Weiss

Former Staff Writer

Geoff Weiss is a former staff writer at Entrepreneur.com.

Editor's Pick

Related Topics

Money & Finance

Want to Become a Millionaire? Follow Warren Buffett's 4 Rules.

企业家是不能过度指狗万官方望太多a company exit for their eventual 'win.' Do this instead.

Living

How to Start a 'Million Dollar' Morning Routine

Restructure your morning with a few simple steps that may help to amplify your energy.

Business Solutions

Learn to Program an AI Chatbot for Your Business in This $30 Course

Get back-to-school savings on this AI coding course.

Business News

'Truly Unprecedented': If You Are Hoping to Score a Lionel Messi Soccer Jersey, You Are Going to Wait a Very Long Time

The soccer superstar's authentic Inter Miami jersey is sold out through October.

Business Ideas

55 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2023

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2023.

Thought Leaders

Mark Cuban Says These are the Dumbest Things Entrepreneurs Do

Whatever you do, don't do the first thing on this list. Or the second. Definitely not the third.