cnn s alina cho is following this story for us. gosh, where do you even start with this? there s so many questions and it s the story we have all been talking about this morning! it is, kiran. you re about to be a mother so you can only imagine. just the not knowing for so many years, two decades. now to finally reunite with your long lost daughter. just an incredible story what happened to little carlina white, not so little any more, of course. the last time joy white saw her daughter she was 3 weeks old and 19 days old, a little, little baby. now 23 years later, an adult. on friday, carlina white was reunited with her birth mother. the family s prayers two decades later finally answered. carlino was a miss being link! we have gotten her back in the name of jesus! hallelujah! she was just like she been around us all her life.
year after year, birthday after birthday until january 4th of this year. that s when joy white answered her phone and carlina, now a young adult, was on the other end. carlina was a missing link and we have gotten her back in the name of jesus, hal lieu ja, hallelujah. she was just like she had been around us all her life. she wasn t no stranger. she was just, you know, just fit right in. what about all those missing years? turned out she was raised under a different name in a family she never felt she belonged in. she got suspicious when her mother couldn t show her her birth certificate. she went on the internet, found the national center for missing and exploited center, and a few phone calls and she was back where she did belong. the investigation into her kidnapping goes on. now to other stories we re following. south florida s law enforcement community is reeling after losing two of its own today.
gas exploded in chehalis, washington. live pictures from our affiliate there in seattle, kiro. you will be able to see that in a second. it s a little dark, but fire crews are on hand trying to bring it under control. no immediate reports of insur injuries. we will bring you the details when they come in. a baby stolen in 1987 grows up and tracks down her real mother. wait till you hear all of the details behind this story. a grim update on the daniel pearl case. three-year study points to an imprisoned al qaeda leader boasted he beheaded the wall street journal reporter. who is he? khalid shaikh mohammed. a delta flight makes
obviously the traditional stuff of extortion and drugs and loan sharking but also the more insidious stuff where they insinuate themselves into sectors of our economy. so yes, this is a big blow, certainly the colombo family if you read the indictment, one of the five traditional families here in new york city took out the whole leadership of the family. you wonder will it regenerate like the nine-headed hydra monster of lore. it has a way of rebuilding itself over time. eliot spitzer is a former mafia prosecutor, former attorney general in new york and former governor of new york. don t forget his would he parker spitzer airs 8:00 p.m. right here on cnn. our sound effect today, pure elation. on august 4th, 1987 it, joy white took her 33 week old daughter carlina to a new york hospital because the girl had a fever. the child was admitted. the mom went home to rest, came back to the hospital, carlina was gone and stayed gone.
she was broken. she was broken for so long. reporter: just when the case couldn t get any colder, last month, an atlanta resident reportedly learned the woman who raised her wasn t her biological mother. around christmas we received a phone call through our 24-hour hotline from this woman who indicated she was suspicious about her past. she had questions about who she really was. reporter: the center for missing and exploited children checked their database and the nypd opened up their cold case files. she sees a photo of carlina white and says wow, that looks like me. she takes out her own baby photos and says i look like the same person. nance reached out to joy white and they agreed to meet. this week, dna confirmed what the family already knew. this is joy. mother and daughter reunited.