Girl who was ‘stolen’ by travellers aged four but reunited with her birth family 53 years later
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A woman who was ‘stolen’ by travelers when she was just four years old has been reunited with her biological family after tracking them down on Facebook 53 years later.
Susan Gervaise, 57, was taken around the world from Pontefract, West Yorkshire, by a family of travelers with the promise that they would take her to Disney World and bring her back home.
Mrs. Gervaise, born Susan Preece, always believed that her biological family had rejected her and that the thoughts of looking for them hadn’t even crossed her mind.
But unbelievably, 53 years later, she was able to find her family just 30 minutes after her husband made a call on Facebook.
Despite her distraught family living in turmoil in the UK since she was kidnapped in 1969, Ms Gervaise insists she’s been ‘spoiled rotten’ by the traveling community.
But more than five decades later, the mystery and sadness behind the young girl’s disappearance may now end after reuniting in West Yorkshire with four of her six siblings.
The mother of three now wants to show others that there is hope for missing children after she was finally able to reassure her biological family and tell them she had always been safe and loved.
Susan Gervaise, 57, has been reunited with four of her six siblings after being stolen by travelers and brought to Canada when she was just four years old. Pictured: Mrs. Gervaise as a child (left) and now (right)
Susan Gervaise (front left), 57, was reunited with four of her six siblings after her husband posted in a local Facebook group
Sadly, she would never be reunited with her birth mother, who died tragically eight years ago, meaning she never found out her daughter was safe.
Mrs. Gervaise, a grandmother of four children who now lives in Australia, said: ‘As a child I lived with my six siblings in an old rectory on a traveler’s estate. We were not travelers.
“My mom was alone and we were all in and out of foster homes.
‘I was friends with a couple on the site who were from Scotland, the woman I call my mother had MS and they had two sons.
“I think they wanted a girl. They asked my mother if they could take me to Disney World and she gave them my birth certificate so I could be put in their passport.
“Instead they took me to Canada, then Australia and later New Zealand. This was always their plan.’
Mrs. Gervaise always knew she had her birth certificate, but was always told that she had been given up for adoption.
Susan Gervaise (center left) is pictured with long-lost siblings Roger Preece (left), Angela Hall (center right), and Catherine Bailey (right)
Susan Gervaise (right) at her birth mother’s grave with long-lost siblings Angela Hall (left), Roger Preece (center left), and Catherine Bailey (center right)
“I lived with the traveling community and lived a cherished life where I was spoiled rotten,” she added.
“My mother died of MS when I was 10, but even then I was very much loved growing up in the center of a traveling community.
“I’ve always been happy growing up. I’ve traveled the world.’
Susan Gervaise has been reunited with the family she didn’t know she had after 53 years
The grandmother, who now runs the charity Fresh Start Mission with her traveling husband, 57-year-old Hamilton, only found out at age 16 that she had been taken when she needed a passport to return to Australia from New Zealand.
“The sheer magnitude of what happened to me just didn’t dawn on me, I just went on with my life,” she said.
Ms Gervaise had to wait until she was 18 to apply for an adult passport and returned to Australia at the age of 19, where she met her husband and had three children and four grandchildren.
Her “father” died when she was 21. She said: ‘It wasn’t until someone who was adopted asked me what my family in the UK would feel like and that was a lightbulb moment for me.’
After her husband launched the search and sent out a Facebook appeal on the local Knottingley and Ferrybridge Community page in June, her family was found within 30 minutes.
All her siblings are still alive and all but one of her still lives near Pontefract.
Grandmother of four (wearing a sash) tied up her 57th birthday reunion so she could throw a party with her family
She said, “When I spoke to my family, they cried hysterically because I was still alive.”
The mum, who is in the UK until October 20, planned her home visit to meet them on her 57th birthday so she could throw a party with her family.
She said: ‘To this day we don’t know why the police were never involved. I think it must be because my mom gave them permission to take me in and the fact that we were in and out of foster care.
“But several requests have been made through Missing Persons over the years, and my mother kept returning to the traveler’s site after moving house to look for me.”
Mrs Gervaise’s niece, Emma McFadyen, said, “It was said that Susan’s mother went looking for her over the years, but with no luck.
“After her death, there were so many questions that remained unanswered. Things were different then. There was no paper trail, no police report.
“We never thought this would happen. It was wonderful – especially for my mother. She has Parkinson’s and dementia, so it’s amazing that she reunited with her sister before she deteriorated. She is now complete.’
Mrs. Gervaise said: ‘It sends a message to anyone who has lost someone that miracles happen. There is hope.’