The Locator is an Emotional Rollercoaster
Hey Locator friends! I am so excited about the start of season two! So much has happened since season one ended! HUGS FROM LOCATOR FANS!
I have been reuniting families for nearly 20 years, most of those years included many national talk show appearances. So being approached by people who recognized me from TV has been a part of life for years. BUT nothing could have prepared me for what has been happening since season 1 of The Locator aired!
Never a day goes by that I am not approached by Locator fans that, without saying a word, simply walk up, tears in their eyes and give me the most wonderful hugs! It's so amazing! Every city, every restaurant, airport, hotel, wonderful Locator fans are everywhere! It is so touching to meet so many of you all over the country. Thank you for your love and support of The Locator show; I am grateful for you. By telling everyone you know to watch the show, you have joined mom and me in our life's work to reunite as many families as possible in this life. Please keep up your great work!
TOP 5 QUESTIONS I GET ASKED...
As I meet people all over the country and as I read some of the thousands of emails pouring into our website every day, I am starting to see some of the same questions over and over. So let me answer the top 5 questions I get:
1. "What happened to the people you reunited last season on The Locator?"
ANSWER: My team contacted the families from season 1 and told them you wanted to know how things are going now. We took their responses and put them all in one place for you to read. CLICK HERE
2. "When does season 2 start?"
ANSWER: Saturday night! 9p|8c. Please take a moment right now and send a short email to all of your friends and tell them to tune in! We have gotten a lot of positive press about the show being such a family-friendly program and the only way we can keep positive programming on TV is to keep spreading the word to people who haven't watched it yet. As the audience for The Locator grows, so does our opportunity to grant reunion wishes for more people... maybe YOU!
3. "Does every story end happy?"
ANSWER: I guess that depends on your definition of "happy." If you are asking if every case ends with a happy reunion, the answer is no. However, as you know, I believe strongly that you cannot find peace until you find all the pieces. Even in the scenarios when people do not get to experience a heart-healing hug, they do get one thing for certain: closure. You cannot place a value on the power of healing closure provides. This season, you will see some cases which result in surprise endings that may not be what you had anticipated. They certainly caught me off guard when they happened! (Please don't miss an episode!)
4. "Is there still time for me to submit my story so I have a chance to be reunited?"
ANSWER: Absolutely! My team and I are STILL reviewing stories for our next angel case, still traveling with a camera crew tailing along and still granting wishes! If you have NOT yet told me your story, please do so right away! Here is a shortcut link to the fastest way to get your story read by my team.
5. "Will we see more of your family in season 2?"
ANSWER: Yes. Jen and the kids are in season 2 a bit more, but the focus of The Locator remains YOU, the families seeking to be reunited. However, one of my children, Treston, age 14, has taken it upon himself to develop a little website that takes people behind the scenes of the Dunn family. (Kind of makes me nervous if you want to know the truth!) But he promises me it will all be done in good taste. We'll see. I did see him walking around the house with a video camera yesterday, so I guess he will have something up for you to see any time now. When he does, I'll send you a link.
THE SEASON PREMIERE (One Hour Special!)
People have often told me that watching an episode of The Locator is an emotional rollercoaster. If that's true, then the premiere episode Saturday night is going to be the biggest emotional rollercoaster you have ever ridden! At least it was for me as it was unfolding.
There are TWO cases in this premiere episode; a wonderful young lady named Wendy who is trying to locate the mother who abandoned her and the second case is a group of 4 sisters trying to find the 5th- their baby sister! You definitely want to gather your family and experience this hour together. It will touch you and dare I say there is a moment that will SHOCK you! (To the families in this premiere episode: I sure do love you all and thank you for letting me enter your lives for a brief time. You are extraordinary women and I am proud to call you new friends.)
I must get back to reading new stories coming from people wanting to be reunited, but before I do, I implore you to urge everyone you know to tune in to The Locator Saturday night at 9p|8c. The only way we can keep granting reunion wishes is if our strongest fans, (I hope that's you) join with us in getting the word out to everyone possible. Tell your personal world about The Locator show so we can continue solving Angel Cases! :-)
Troy
p.s. I'm on Twitter! Subscribe to my Twitter stream (it's FREE) and spend the day behind the scenes with me, the team and the family!
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Dear Troy,
God bless you for what you do in reuniting families! My husband and I watch all your shows - with tissues in both hands! Your show is wonderful, and inspiring! I myself am adopted. I found my birthmother when I was 30, she was very happy to meet me although she found it too uncomfortable to stay too close. That would be the only time I would ever see her again. Unfortunately she passed away in 2003.
When I sent away for my non-ID I found out that I had an older brother. I have been searching for him for years and posting everywhere on the internet that I can think of with no luck so far. I was in a bad car accident in April 2002 and since that time I have had 2 lumber and 2 cervical fusions leaving me with nerve damage and ultimately constant pain. I also have Fibromyalgia which is a debilitating disease, not life threatening - but it feels like it.
Due to the never-ending pain, I have had a very hard time getting online and searching or leaving posts. I have signed up with many adoption groups but seem to get no where.
Can you help me please?
Prayerfully yours,
Susie (searchingsusie@gmail.com)
Like most others on here, I love The Locator. I was especially touched by Wendy's search for her mother on the first episode of the second season. Also, I was able to view the follow-up they did with her on the Dr. Phil show. While her mother's letter offered some explanation for her actions, obviously, it did very little to relieve Wendy's pain. I have a story somewhat similar to Wendy's mother. In the early 1970's, I am a caucasian female who was involved in an inter-racial relationship with a black male. It was a very different world then and inter-racial relationships caused some very strong reactions. During that relationship, I became pregnant but miscarried very early in the pregnancy. However, that is where the similarities between Wendy's mother and I end. I was deeply in love with the black man, and I would never have "thrown away" a bi-racial child simply for my own convenience. I know that Troy and Dr. Phil have tried to help Wendy deal with the rejection. It's very easy for us to say that she just needs to move on. At this point, I think Wendy needs to know that it is her mother's loss that she has not had the opportunity to know Wendy all these years. I would be proud to call Wendy my daughter, and I would gladly "adopt" her!!!
Troy, I just started getting your show, and wanted to say thanks! Even though Wendy's story has a not so happy ending, I wanted to let her know she is not alone! I father dumped my 1/2 sister Tribie when she was little, I was 5 the last time I saw her and was 8 the last time we heard from her! My younger sister and I finally got why she stopped talking to us was because our father is twisted, My younger sister and I discontinued a relationship with him 11 years later. My mother felt that it was important that we continue a reltionship with him, and as we approched adulthood relized that our she was right, to cut the ties! I have made peice with the fact that my biological father needs to stay out of my life, but, have not been able to shake the hole that Tribie has left. My mother has spoken to her mother and the way it was left was that she preferes to stay hiden! That is when Wendy's story hit home! I have been dealing with the rejection of my 1/2 sister due to my father and things that happened of which I have no idea! I have a full life, I have 3 kids, a great husband, and my moms family are fantasic! But, there has always been a peice missing! I felt it on my wedding day, and when each of my kids were born! Watching you show I know my story is not unique and I am not alone!!!!!
Thanks, A
HI TROY MY NAME IS YANIRA I AM 27 ,I AM IN SEARCH OF MY FATHER. MY MOTHER WAS VERY YOUNG WHEN SHE GOT PREGNAT WITH ME, SHE WAS 14 YRS OLD. SHE WAS LIVING IN THE STREETS THAT IS WHEN SHE WAS WITH MY FATHER. MY MOTHER WAS IN DANGER AT THAT TIME SO MY GRANDMOTHER SEND HER TO PUERTO RICO AT THAT TIME SHE DIDNT KNOW THAT SHE WAS PREGNANT WITH ME .SHE FOUND OUT WHEN SHE WAS IN PR .SHE HAS BEEN TRYING TO SEARCH FOR HIM AND NO LUCK ,I ALSO BEEN TRYING BUT NO LUCK .I NEED TO KNOW WHO MY FATHER IS I HAVE 2 DAUGTHERS RIGHT KNOW 4YR OLD AND 8 YR OLD AND I WANT THEM TO KNOW THERE GRANDFATHER. PLEASE HELP ME I NEED TO KNOW THE TRUTH ABOUT HIM, I NEED PEACE IN MY SOUL I HAVE SO MUCH LOVE TO GIVE HIM AND SO MUCH LOVE TO RECEIVE THIS HAS BEEN CAUSING ME TO BE EMOTIONAL DISTURB AND MUCH DISTRESS
you should have listened to yourself and wondered why the mother kept things from Alexa
restraining order anyone. what a JOKE
Dear Troy,
I submitted my story to your team a few times now and i finally heard back yesturday, and I know that doesnt mean I will be on the show or anything but either way, it gave me hope. And I wanted to tell you that what you, your mom and the Locator Team are doing is truly a great thing. I cant even put into words how much I appriciate the fact you care so much about other people. I dont think you see that very often and certainly not of most tv programs. So, thank you...thank you for every angel case you have done so far and every angel case to come. You are truly a blessing to this world and the show is the most amazing thing on TV.
sincerely a loving fan,
samantha sparkman
ps
the season 2 premiere was remarkable!!! I to am searching for my mother and I have to admit i spent most of the episode in tears.
hi troy first i want to say you and your helping angels are the thing between a miracle and a dream that does come true.i hope you can to give me that too.i to posted a plea to help me find my half brother whom i know little about but never known.i never met out father who we share but have different mothers.i just met my fathers side of family just 5 yrs ago.it was my me going to those websites for family tree when it was free to search.my father died when i was 5 and didnt know of it til i was 10.i learned i have a brother who is about 5yrs older then me who his named james ladd henager and who is severly autistic and who doesnt have any human emotion or responce.i am prepared for that i dont want to disterb his life i just want to know how he is and if maybe to see what he looks like i went for many,many years never knowing my father or his family not looking like anyone and having a severly abusive step father who never exceptedme as his own but something to destroy.i have like a sence of destperation in me to find my brother a kind of completion more so that i have children of my own and i cry on every episode of your show part of joy for the ones who has found the ones they were looking for and also so envious because i feel that im being robbed of that in my life to find my brother a person whom i share a father,blood,and maybe a chance to meet.thankyou .misty coombs
Hi Troy, Wendy's story is heartbreaking. Wish her well for me.
My mother gave up my kid sister at birth when I was 4. I learned about her when I was 16. My mother died when I was 24. It was too taboo to discuss my baby sister's birth until my mom was dying, I knew I had to ask. I gathered all the details and when I could I hired someone like you to find her. That was 1986.
Since we were adults, family resemblance aside, we were strangers and we had to build a relationship, it was not love at first sight.
Long story short, I had her in my life for 19 years, when she died suddenly from an aneurysm. My heart was broken when my mother died, losing my sister broke it again.
All I can say is, I thank God for the time I had with them both. It's such a loss that they did not know each other. Without someone like you helping me find my sister I would have never known her.
Regarding Wendy, I understand the heartbreak. Let her know that she is not rejected from those who understand her loss. We are all here for her. She and her brother are in our prayers.
God Bless you all for what you do!
Thank you!
As the parent of an adopted child it was very difficult to watch this week's story about mom Jennifer and her inability to take responsibility for what she had done to her two abandoned children. We adoptive parents face the possibility that our so-loved children will grapple with issues of loss and the unexplained, and when children are abandoned (as ours was in China) we can only do our best to provide safety, security, and strong, supportive bonds of every-day love to nuture them through their search for answers. Jennifer's letter to her daughter was revealing in its self-absorption, deflection of blame, and ability to compartmentalize the psychological abuse (for this is what I would call it) she perpetrated on her children. Her comment she had been lucky in all aspects of her life was unbearably cruel. I only hope her daughter does finally have the chance to face this woman and ensure her secrets are finally revealed and accountability faced. She cannot avoid the inevitable.
Troy,
I was deeply saddened by the story of Wendy, to come this far on her journey only to encounter such heartache. It is clear that her mother is not ready for a reunion... the question is will she ever be. She's doesn't seem to want to own up to her mistakes. Her past has nothing to do with the bond and connection that she's depriving her children of. She speaks of success in life but she has not succeeded as a mother. She sounds very superficial and self absorbed. It also sounds like she slowly started withdrawing from her children as she nourished thoughts of a new beginning. To be complete in life you must first rid yourself of the baggage you're carrying, it is the only way to move forward. I do not think she realized the impact her abandonment would have on these two people as they grew into adulthood. As a single mother who has struggled with a bitter divorce and custody battle, I cannot imagine what caused this woman to take such drastic measures. I truly hope that Wendy can be complete with her mother’s choice and know this should never keep her from loving, trusting and completely enjoying what life has to offer. I wish her the very best!!!
Troy, I watched your show last night for the first time and was very moved. I am 50 and have never met my biological father, I know his name and have pictures of him. Before my mother passed away she gave them to me. I would love it if you could help me find him. Micky in Ohio
Is there a place to watch the full episodes online? I do not get the show on our cable stations. My cousin is on an upcoming episode and I don't want to miss it. Thanks, pb
Enjoyed the story on John, (Missoula) Knew him as a member of the Reed family, as they were our friends as well. I often had wondered what happened to him. He was very quiet and was learning to trust. He is a success in my mind, and he has truly been blessed with a wife that knows his heart and loves him very much.
Thank you Tony for making John's world whole again. He has a wonderful family, both his sisters and his wife and children.
Because I lived closer to Canada, i only got to see John about seven times. I knew that he appreciated feeling safe and he did learn to smile. John, thank ou for being the wonderful young man you are.
Luv4Life
Dear Troy,Katie, and Jen, and all of your wonderful staff,
There are no words to express the gratitude in my heart for what you have done for our family!All I have ever wanted was to have my sisters again!! The season 2 premiere was everything and more than I ever thought it could be.You all have given us a wonderful gift, and because of you we can all move on and get the family healing we all need.All of you will forever hold a place in my heart.With Love Always-Stephanie Leo
Try, thank you so much for all of this! I still get very emotional when I watch our story and how it has encouraged others to find their families. You are truly a miracle worker and a true friend.
I recently saw this episode with the sisters. Oh my. i can relate to this story! Although i felt sooo bad for Wendi! I felt the pain of being abandoned by her mother. i wanted to hug her! I hope that she can move on, and be a better mother to her kids!! But the sisters story.. oh wow.. i have 3 older sisters. 1 of them i have never met. Although we exchanged emails and pictures, Im eager to meet her in person. Like me, she was raised by her dad because our "mom" couldnt raise 4 kids and believed she and i would be better off with our dads. While she raised our two older sisters. I was told about our other sister when i was 9 or 10. i had seen pictures of her.
A few times i wanted to get her address but nobody would give it to me.. Finally i found her address at my sisters house off a christmas card. i wrote her a letter. We found out we have alot of similarities and feeling toward our mother.. The four of us are planning a get together this summer. I may finally get to meet her after all this time!!
Troy, I just saw your show for the first time and think it is absolutely wonderful. I saw the eposide entitled a daughter's dream with wendy and thought how horrible and evil is this poor woman's biological mother. Believe me, I do not say this without much taught, however, it is clear that this woman fought a huge custody battle for these children agasint a father who really loved them. She is awarded custody, leaves with the children to a different state and as a result the father can not see them. This causes the father to commit suicide and then a year latter she remarries and sends her children away without so much as an explaination. It is clear to me that this woman used her children as pawn to hurt the father for "what ever" he did to her during the marriage. Obvioulsly, issues of race come into play as well in her decision to abondon these children. How a mother could leave her children after raising them for the first 10 years of their lives, without a thought as to her responsibility to them and how her action would impact their lives is truly disgusting and evil. The killer is that I am sure this woman is a church going christian woman and no one in her congregation would believe that she would ever abondon her children.
Troy
I forgot to tell all my Neices one thing. We all Love You here in Ohio. I just wish you could have met your Grandfather. He would have love to met you all. And I hope I get to and the rest of the family.
Alex Nelson
Dear Troy
I just watched you show for the first time tonight. I wouldnt have ever known about it but my Neice Stephanie and my sister Jackie called my mother. To tell us they would be on it tonight. Yes the five sister you help come together are my Neices. I have only met two of them Stephanie and Desiree. I havent seen my sister in years. I have talked to her on the phone but thats about it. The girls need to know they have two uncles (Alex and Wilby) and aunt(Celeste) here in Ohio. Plus they have four cousins Jordan,Hannah,Autumn and Nat. Im glad you helped them out in coming together. And with Sara meeting her Mom. Im glad I got to watch your show and see them.
Alex Nelson
Hi I watched the show tonight and it was great. however I saw the same show twice and was wondering what went wrong as it was advertized as an hour show and it really was a half hour show.
I had been llking forward to seeing it all week as I was seeing the commercials for it.
disapointing at best.
Hi Troy,
I met you in the land records dept. of the Lee County Clerk of Courts last week in Ft Myers FL. You were doing a segment for TV and I actually got to meet you and your camera crew. I also just finished watching your new season premier of The Locator. I was in tears as usual. I met my birth mother 20 years ago, so this show is very close to my heart and I know exactly how important it is for the reconnection and the closure that goes with it. It took me years, but I have realized we all have our issue's and the issues belonged to my parents and I did not need to carry any of it. Thank you Troy for the wonderful work that you do.
Your friend & fan,
Vicki aka aangel47
I can't find the listing on my cable tv for this program..can you help. I live in Baltimore City Maryland
Troy,
OMG your show is the BEST!!! I am seriously not the type of person that cries (if do very rarely) but your show has me crying like a baby!!! Keep up the good work, you have a great heart!!! You are definitely going to heaven...
Did you figure out that google thing yet?
Troy.......don't let the truth get in the way of a good story.