SAN DIEGO -- A San Diego native and DNA detective featured in Friday’s 20/20 is helping a local firefighter track down his birth mother who abandoned him as an infant.
Eric Norwood is a San Diego County firefighter. His team is tight. They would do anything for each other. No questions asked. But Norwood has been keeping a secret from them.
“It's extremely hard, it's heart wrenching.”
The 45-year-old was adopted. His biological mother abandoned him.
“I was about a month old.”
She just left him with a babysitter. Actually, a woman she had recently met.
“She said she'd be right back, and she never came back.”
Norwood bounced around in foster homes in Pasadena until he was two. That's when Esther and Willie Norwood walked into his life. He describes them as his angels. Life with the Norwoods was blessed. They showered him with unconditional love. Still, he has so many unanswered questions throughout his life.
“Why? I just want to find out what happened? What was so bad in your life that you would give up your kid, your son?”
He's hired three private investigators hoping to find his biological mother and get those answers.
All led to dead ends. Until now. Detective Cece Moore is part of his new team which was profiled in Friday's 20/20.
“It's definitely time for him to turn to DNA testing,” Moore said. “It's given answers to many families. The databases have grown immensely.”
Norwood is hoping to finally get some answers.
“It's a huge gap missing in my life. I cry. I cry.”
