Shelly of Southgate, Michigan remembers missing her mother, Ann, since she was an eight-year-old girl. After her parents’ bitter divorce, Shelly’s mother Ann left her life and as far as she knows, has never looked back. Shelly, now 41 years old, is married and has two children of her own who she could never imagine not having in her life. She has been desperately searching for her mother for the last 15 years and hopes and prays that the incompleteness she feels from her mother’s absence can somehow be healed with the help of Troy and his team.

The Searchers: Shelly, seeking her mother—Shelly has grown up only knowing her father’s side of her parents; divorce and has wondered for 34 years why her mother never tried to see her again. Shelly feels that finding her mother is the only way to fulfill a life made barren by this loss.

The Searchees: Ann, Shelly’s mom—When her marriage ended with Shelly’s father, Ann felt that she had no way to offer her child stability or security, so she chose to give custody to her ex–husband, hoping that his parents would help give Shelly a loving home. She had no way of knowing that Shelly would suffer emotional and physical abuse in his home and spend her life hoping for a miracle: finding her mom.