Valley woman reunites with father, 39 years after they were separated

PHOENIX, Ariz. (KSAZ) - Reunions are often full of emotions, but it's even more so for one particular reunion at Sky Harbor Airport Friday, where a Valley woman was reunited with her father, after finding him on Facebook.

It was a reunion that is nearly four decades in the making. Brandy Arias was separated from her father, after Arias' mother died.

Arias was only five months old when her mother passed away. She was raised by her maternal relatives. Those who later raised Arias didn't exactly paint a flattering picture of her father.

"They said he was no good," said Arias. "He was bad, he wasn't good for my mom."

After Arias' grandfather passed away recently, she said she uncovered photos and new information about her father, which made her want to find him.

Eventually, Arias did.

All that Arias and her family felt was excitement, anxiety, and fear, as they waited at the airport for Arias' father to arrive.

"You made it," Arias said, crying as the moment she and her father waited 39 years for, finally arrived. The last time Arias' father, Butch, saw her was in Texas. Arias was just an infant, and Butch became a single father after Arias' mother died of Aplastic Anemia. Butch said he dropped Arias off to his in-laws' home one day so they could babysit her.

He never saw Arias again, until now.

"When they took her, I had no idea," Butch said. "I went to work, came in, and she's gone."

Brandy was then taken to Arizona, where her aunt and uncle adopted her and changed her last name.

Now that the reunion has happened, Butch said he will be planning several trips from Texas to Phoenix, trying to make up for all the time he and Arias lost.