37-year-old David Amaya Barrick returned to the United States after being kidnapped by his father and taken to Mexico when he was little.
Ever since he was two, David Amaya grew up in Mexico away from his mother Kathy Amaya who looked for him for many years until US authorities told her they couldn't help her since they had no jurisdiction in Mexico, according to the Associated Press.
The American grew up with his grandparents and only speaks Spanish. In early November, David Amaya was arrested by California authorities after attempting to cross the border illegally.
He himself told border authorities he had been born in a hospital in Chicago, and this is how the authorities managed to tell Kathy Amaya about the whereabouts of her son.
In an interview with Reuters, the man explained he studied music and for some time he worked in a regional Mexican music band in the city of Monterrey in the state of Nuevo León.
Police authorities said that the meeting between mother and son was very emotional for both, since they hadn't seen each other since 1979 when Amaya was just a baby.
"It was very emotional. He told her he had been told his mother had abandoned him", said Troy Matthews, supervising agent.
The woman, now 60 years old, told Reuters that she has a lot to talk about with her son, who she quickly identified because of his eyes, nose and smile.
"We'll spend Thanksgiving Day with a lot to be thankful for. We have the same blood, we can figure out the rest", Kathy Amaya said.
Kathy remembered that during her search for her son she became very angry with her ex-husband and with the detectives that couldn't help her, but explained that there are more chances to find people today.
Kathy's other children told the AP that they'd spend the holiday with their brother, since they had heard about him since they were little and were anxious to meet him.