Mum spots the daughter she gave up for adoption 17 years ago - at a dance class!

A shocked mum had a one-in-a-million chance encounter with her long-lost daughter after she put her up for adoption 17 years earlier.

Gina Crotts, from Utah, was just 19 years old when she fell pregnant with a baby girl.

At the time she was single and living away from home and and made the tough decision not to raise her child. 

Gina made sure to keep connected with her daughter, who she named Kalyn, and received notes and photos from Kalyn’s adopted family after the adoption.

Since giving birth to Kalyn, Gina married her husband and had three more children. She made sure the memory of Kalyn remained a part of her family and told her children all about their half-sister. The family even celebrated Kalyn’s birthday together every year by sharing a cake with candles.

However, despite her love for her first-born and willingness to be involved in her life again, Gina was unsure the feeling would be reciprocated by Kalyn so chose to give her space and not reach out. 

It wasn’t until she took her 13-year-old daughter, Evie, to her ballet class in their home town of Saratoga Springs that the unthinkable happened.

Evie spotted a young woman with long blonde hair, who looked like the photos of her half-sister, watching the dance class through a window at the back of the room and quickly rushed to her mum.

“Evie came up to me and said, ‘Mum, I swear that is Kalyn over there in this BYU sweatshirt.’ And she goes ‘I know it’s not but just look back there.’ So I look back there and look who I found!" 

“She’s the cutest and we love her and she knows we love her. It’s a very very blessed day.”