Ally Burke, and her husband, Morgan. Submitted photo.

By Taylor J. Hale

Staff Writer 

Continued from a previous edition

PORTAGE COUNTY – It was 2018, and Burke was expecting another child. It has been roughly a year since the Portage County mother first made contact with her Chilean family and observed inklings of what she felt was dishonesty.

 The 32-year-old local heard conflicting birth stories from her biological mother, Myriam, who claimed she was born in an isolated hut deep in Chile and was placed into adoption against Myriam’s wishes, while Chilean hospital paperwork showed otherwise.

Burke’s father, Roberto, was told that she died at birth; he was utterly unaware of Burke’s existence until the Wisconsin woman reached out to her family after receiving help from a social media group dedicated to reconnecting adopted individuals with their Chilean families.

Burke saw glaring plot holes in her mother’s story and set out to find her real history. The truth was more intricate than she expected.

“I finally had the courage one evening to flat out ask Myriam, how was I born, why was I adopted, what is my story,'” Burke said.

Months of video chats and phone calls with Myriam and her siblings led to conflicting storylines with characters that seemingly worn multiple masks. According to Burke, Myriam’s response to her line of questioning was brief and temperamental.

“[Myriam] said,’ I told you my daughter, and I am not going to apologize again and again. I have already told you and apologized. If you don’t believe me, that is your fault and your problem. But, I am done telling you this story,” Burke recalled.

The young woman was shocked by the harsh, short response and tone of her mother. This was the turning point. Burke’s retort was direct and precise. She knew her mother was lying to her, and she planned to take action.

“I know my truth, and I deserve justice as does Roberto for your lies and greed,” she said to her mother via a 2018 chat session.

She told Myriam she would find the entire truth of her shady birth story and seek legal action for any wrongdoings Myriam could be involved with in the past. Myriam then cut off all contact with Burke and told her biological siblings she was an American “scam artist,” merely trying to swindle money from the family.

Many of her siblings believed Myriam’s deceptive words, with the exception of Burke’s older half-sister Angela, and her biological father, Roberto.

Burke reached out to the Chilean Government and La Policía de Investigaciones (PDI), with the information she had on her unconventional adoption and Myriam. The PDI is similar to the American Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

Officials informed Burke that illegal adoption practices ran rampant throughout the country in the 1970-90s and that many cases of fraudulent “for-profit” adoptions were sprouting up frequently. Illegal adoptions were heavy in the 1980s, during the Pinochet dictatorship, the same decade Burke was born.

Continued next week