Adopted man reunited with mother who gave him up for adoption as baby

‘Forty years I’ve been waiting’: Tear-jerking moment adopted man is reunited with his mother who gave him up for adoption as a baby because she could not support him

• Footage captures moment man is reunited with mother after waiting ‘forty years’
• Tobayi Howton, from New York City, was given up for adoption when he was born
• He travelled to San Diego and said emotional moment was a ‘dream come true’

This is the emotional moment a man breaks down in tears as he is reunited with his birth mother after ‘waiting forty years’ to find her.

Tobayi Howton, from New York City, first began searching for his biological mother in 1982 after finding out that she had given him up for adoption at birth because she was not able to financially support him. 

After finally tracking down his mother, Thomasette Cox, Mr Howton flew over 2,000 miles to San Diego where he was reunited with his biological mother and the pair instantly shared an emotional embrace.  

Tobayi Howton, from New York City, broke down into tears after he was reunited with his biological mother, Thomasette Cox in San Diego 

Mr Howton, who is in his 50s, travelled over 2000 miles to San Diego to meet Ms Cox, and said he had spent ‘forty years’ waiting for the moment

Emotional footage, that was taken on September 4, shows Mr Howton walking towards his mother and sharing a loving embrace 

He is heard saying: ‘Just landed. About to take the next step for the rest of my life. Kind of like a dream come true.’

The video then cuts to Mr Howton arriving at his mother’s front door where he admits he has been waiting ‘forty years’ for the moment to happen. 

Pointing to her house, he says: ‘This is mom’s house. Forty years I’ve been waiting for this.’

As Ms Cox walks out, the pair share a heartwarming hug, and as they share a loving embrace.

Ms Cox can be heard saying, ‘Don’t cry, Don’t cry.   

‘Want to come in for a glass of wine? Come on, it’s okay, let’s go inside.’

The pair later take a walk together in San Diego and the video cuts to them smiling.

Mr Howton, who works as a tax accountant, has spoken to Ms Cox for two years before booking a plane ticket and called the moment a ‘dream’

He adds: ‘I’m taking a walk in San Diego with mom. This is our first walk together!

”It’s awesome. My mom has got her own style as you can see.’ 

According to Mr Howton, who is now in his 50s, he had been aware that he was adopted since he was old enough to comprehend, with his adoptive father always supporting his search for his biological parent.

When he turned 12, he wrote a letter to his adoption agency, requesting to discuss his adoption.

A letter came back with hardly any identifying information about his mother and he was forced to carry out the search himself.

Once he reached his 20s, Mr Howton managed to track down his birth certificate, which only gave him his mother’s last name.

Mr Howton found his biological mother by using DNA sampling websites 23andMe and Ancestry.com. He received a match to a cousin named Alicia that put him in touch with his great aunt, who was able to give him the contact details for Ms Cox

Ten years later the likes of a private investigator proved to be unsuccessful, as did websites like 23andMe and Ancestry.com, and for a decade he still had no information on who is mother was.

But having had a membership with DNA sampling websites for roughly two years, Mr Howton received a match to a cousin named Alicia that put him in touch with his great aunt, who was able to give him the contact details for his birth mother, Ms Cox.

The pair talked for roughly two years, they each carried out a DNA test which came back with the result Mr Howton had been waiting for, a parent-child match.  

Mr Howton initially wanted to keep a reunion video of the moment private, but after a friend encouraged him to share it with the world, he posted the footage online, hoping to inspire others in similar situations.

To his surprise, the clip soon received hundreds of thousands of views.

Ms Cox and Mr Howton talked for roughly two years, they each carried out a DNA test which came back with the result they’d each been waiting for – a parent-child match

Mr Howton is pictured with his mother Ms Cox and her partner, who briefly appears on the video footage, at their home in San Diego

Speaking of the moment, he added: ‘As I got closer to her the only thing I heard was the sound of her voice and I was pretty much OK until she embraced me.

‘The moment she touched me my entire childhood flashed through my mind.

‘I allowed the little boy I unknowingly still had tucked away to have his moment, and I broke down in her arms.

‘It was his moment, his day. The first thing I would like to tell anyone is to never, ever give up.

‘My father, Theron Howton, made certain that he answered any questions that I had as best as he could and never once shunned conversation about it.

‘The way he explained it to me, I always knew that my mother gave me up because she could not provide a life for herself or me at that point in time.

‘I understood that she gave me up so that I could have a chance at a better life than she could provide, and to this day I am grateful for his honesty and open communication.’

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