Teenager finds family thanks to Facebook

A teenager found 15 members of her family by using Facebook. Sophie Featherstone lived with her grandmother from when she was 18 months old. Her grandmother was the only family Sophie had. She had never met her mother or father. Sophie was very sad when her grandmother died.

Then, one day, she was visiting a friend in Liverpool, and she logged on to Facebook. She saw a message there that said, "Your dad would love to get in touch with you." The message was from a woman called Sarah Prescott. Sarah and Sophie began chatting online. Sarah told Sophie that her partner, Paul, was sure that he was Sophie's father. Sophie arranged to meet Paul, and then met more members of her family. She discovered that she had five half-brothers and half-sisters from her father’s previous relationships.

Sophie now lives with the family. "It was wonderful to have a family – I was so lonely and lost. I had good friends, but nothing compensates for a family you can depend on."