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Missing girl meets family for the first time after 20 years

Missing girl meets family for the first time after 20 years

A 20-year mystery came to an end in November 2013 when Savanna Todd and her mother Lee Barnett were found living under fake names for at least four years on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia.

Now, Savanna – who is known today as Samantha Geldenhuys – has met her US family for the first time.

The last time Samantha’s grandmother Dotti Barnett and uncle Cliff Barnett saw her, she was as a baby.

“I was resigned to the fact that I would never see her again,” Dotti said.

Twenty years ago, Lee Barnett was depicted in court by her ex-husband's legal team as violent and suffering from a type of bipolar disorder.

Her lawyers submitted psychiatric reports claiming she was normal, but she lost custody of her daughter Savanna to the baby's father, Harris Todd.

After a weekend access visit, Barnett claims she was greeted with a bruised and bloodied baby girl.

Soon after, she vanished with her 10-month-old daughter.

Lee became ‘Alex’, and Savanna became ‘Samantha’. They moved across four continents, ending first in South Africa and eventually in Australia.

Former South Carolina woman Lee – now ‘Alex’ – faced extradition back to the United States for taking her infant daughter and possibly more than 20 years in jail.

Her daughter had been living as Samantha for two decades, with no idea of the story her mother kept hidden.

“Up until this has all occurred, I never had a question in my mind that something like this had happened,” Samantha said.

In the meantime, Harris went on national television in the United States.

Twenty years on, the FBI caught up with Alex. She is now facing 23 years in prison on parental kidnapping and passport violations.

After Samantha spoke out last week, a worldwide reaction to her story erupted.

Facebook pages were instantly set up and a website to help fund her legal fees in the US was established.

“I would never have dreamed this day, never – well, I would've maybe the first five years she was gone, but not after that long,” Dotti said.

Alex's extradition hearing will not begin in Maroochydore for at least another couple of months.

Her friends, family and legal team are doing everything they can to keep her out of court in the United States.

Apart from Samantha, grandmother Dotti and uncle Cliff met her brother Reece – a nephew for Cliff, a grandson for Dotty.

“Cliff's eyes and just the shape of your face just reminds me so much of Mum,” Samantha said.

“It broke my heart her not being by my side for it, she's been by my side every minute since she protected me – and today she's not able to see the reunion,” Samantha said.