Two brothers, who did not know of each other other's existence, were brought together by a "surreal" series of events. Randy Waites, of California, had tuned in to watch the local TV news when he discovered his long-lost brother. He was watching a KCRA 3 newscast about snowfall in Lake Tahoe when he noticed that the man being interviewed shared his last name.
Randy, who grew up without knowing his father, immediately wondered if there could be a connection between him and Eddie Waites, who was being interviewed on TV, since they shared the same last name.
His suspicions were confirmed by his daughter Cambria.
"I saw [Eddie's] features and he actually looked a lot like my dad in the eyes. I did my research, searched up his name, looked up all I could," she told KCRA.
The two spoke over the phone soon afterwards. "It just clicked, like we've been friends for 20 years," Randy said. "It's just unbelievable."
For his part, Eddie was equally surprised - but the family resemblance convinced him he really had found his long-lost brother.
"It was an instantaneous chill all the way from my head all the way down to my toes," Eddie Waites said. "At first I thought, it's not possible. Once I seen a picture of him, I seen my dad. I seen our dad. I knew it was real."
The two met for the first time on Saturday. A picture from the meeting was shared online by a relative.
The brothers are now making up for lost time. "I've never met my father, never saw a picture of him my entire life," Randy said. "Eddie has been texting me all kinds of different stuff, pictures of my grandfather, and filling in on the family history that I never had on that side."
"This is almost an out-of-body experience," Eddie added. "The whole thing is surreal. To have not only a brother, but a family I never knew existed is beyond words. It's unbelievable."
