The science behind consumer DNA testing has allowed millions of people all over the world to learn more about their ancestry and their heritage. But for one woman, the technology reunited her with a sister she never knew she had.

Elaine Crandall had no idea what to expect when her daughter submitted her DNA sample to a popular DNA testing company. Her daughter, who knew her mom was adopted at birth in 1956, often wondered about living biological relatives out there.

As a child, Elaine also wondered if she had other relatives, particularly siblings, but she never mentioned it for fear of upsetting her adoptive parents. She mentioned it once and saw how hurt her parents were, so she promised to herself never to pursue it again as long as they are alive.

Her DNA results came back and found out that she was a 99% match with a woman named April Grant.

April Grant, born a year and a day before Elaine, had been searching for decades for her long-lost sister. She took a DNA test four years ago and eventually gave up after not receiving any promising news. But merely two months after deciding to give up on her search, she received a message from Elaine’s daughter, and the two sisters finally met each other in Butler, Pennsylvania.

Seeing each other for the first time was an exciting and overwhelming experience for the sisters. The resemblance between the sisters’ physical appearances and personalities are uncanny. Elaine and April, who are also both breast cancer survivors, have since gotten together several times this summer.

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