Woman seeks son’s dad after nearly 50 years

Almost five decades ago, a young Denise Francis was smitten by Dennis Brown, a handsome young man she met at a bus stop on Washington Boulevard in St Andrew.

Their short-term teenage romance produced a son. But although Francis' family was emotionally and financially supportive, they were not pleased with her becoming a mother at just 15.

"I was 15 and he was about 18 and we met a bus stop and he started chatting me up and one thing lead to the next and I started to visit him at his house. We had sex and I found out I was pregnant and I just disappeared out of his life. I was scared but my family supported me. But they warned me not to get involved with him again so I stayed away. I didn't want to mess up again as I am from a good family and they were there for me. That was the last time we spoke," Francis said.

Hoping to bring closure to her now 48-year-old son, Francis said she is reaching out to the public for assistance in locating Brown. Francis said a few months after her son was born, she saw Brown in downtown Kingston where they shared a light conversation. She said she told him that she had given birth but denied that he was the father when he asked. Francis said she and her son later migrated, after which she got married then attended university. For years, her son grew up thinking that his stepfather was his biological dad until a relative told him otherwise.

"It didn't bother him as his stepfather was really good to him. One of my sisters told him as she said he needed to know the truth. At the time it was neither here or there for him. He then went off to university then he got married and got children. I guess because he has children now he wants to know who is their real grandfather. He asked me to search for him and said whenever I find him, it's fine, he just wants identity," Francis said.

She admitted that she deeply regretted not telling Brown about their child.

"My son and his wife are very successful. He is an entrepreneur and I am very successful too. So we are not looking anything from anybody. We just want closure and [to know] if my son has any other siblings by his dad's side and so on," she said.

"I know there may be scammers who may want to reach out to pose as Mr Brown, so I have left out details that only he alone would know," Francis added.

Dennis Brown, or anyone knowing his whereabouts is being asked to contact Denise Francis at denisefrancis77@yahoo.com.