DNA test helps Calif. woman uncover long-lost family secret

ORLANDO, Fla. (KABC) -- A Sacramento woman searching online for information about her ancestry uncovered a decades-old family secret.

For 37 years, Krista Brian thought she was Hispanic and that her father had killed himself when she was an infant.

But her life was turned upside down when she sent a DNA swab to ancestry.com for testing.

The website helped put her in touch with a possible relative based on her results.

That's when she learned - and confirmed through additional testing - that her real father, a man named Andrew Baker, was very much alive and living in Florida.

Another surprise: her heritage was African-American.

Brian told ABC affiliate WFTV that when she was growing up, her mother had mental issues and she was raised by her aunt and uncle. When she asked questions about her father and her heritage, they told her she was Hispanic and that her father had killed himself.

After getting in touch with Baker, he confirmed that he had known her mother briefly, but hadn't known she had their child.

Since the discovery Brian has been visiting Florida to spend time with her new family.

She's also met four siblings she never knew she had.

The DNA-test confirmation came just at the right time - in December.

"It was the best Christmas present I could have ever had," Brian said.

Go here for more on this story, including a full interview with Krista Brian.