Tip ends 1983 abduction case in Jefferson County, sparks family reunion

A Kentucky father was reunited with his daughter who went missing with her mother 43 years ago.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WLKY) -- A Louisville mother accused in a decades-old abduction case is back in Kentucky and facing new charges, and the child at the centre of the case, missing since 1983, has finally been found.

What was once a cold case has become a warm reunion.

A story of reuniting, forgiveness, and moving forward.

For 43 years, Joe Newton waited for the moment he feared would never come.

“She’s always been in my heart,” Newton said. “I can’t explain that moment of that woman walking in and getting to put my arms back around my daughter.”

He last saw Michelle when she was just 3 years old.

The last time WLKY spoke to Newton was in 1986. At that point, he had spent three years searching for his daughter.

In 1983, Joe and his wife, Deborah Lee Newton, were preparing to move to Georgia. Deborah left early with their daughter. When Joe arrived, they were gone.

For more than four decades, no one in the Newton family had answers.

“I’ve missed them so much. I didn’t even know she was alive,” said Michelle’s aunt.

In 2005, Michelle was removed from the national missing-child database. The case was re-examined in 2015 at a family member’s request, and a grand jury re-indicted Deborah Newton the following year.

According to investigators, the case finally cracked open this year after a Crime Stoppers tip in Florida.

Newton is now charged with custodial interference. Investigators noted that felony custodial kidnapping carries no statute of limitations.

She appeared in court on Monday.

Chief Deputy Steve Healey said one person’s courage made the difference:

“For an individual to have the courage to come up and say, ‘I saw this. I believe this is who you’re looking for,’ you’re helping a victim and a victim’s family so much,” Healey said.

Two weeks ago, Michelle came home from work to find police at her door.

“You’re not who you think you are. You’re a missing person. You’re Michelle Marie Newton,” she was told.

In one moment, her entire identity shifted.

In the next, she learned she had a family who never stopped searching, and a father who never stopped loving her.

When she finally met Joe again, he was waiting for her on the porch.

“I wouldn’t trade that moment,” Joe said. “It was just like seeing her when she was first born. It was like an angel.”

Michelle said their focus now is healing.

“My intention is to support them both through this and trying to navigate and help them both just wrap it up so that we can all heal and hopefully, you know, there’s just apologies and start healing,” she said.

“It’s still hard to believe we actually got her back in our lives again,” her aunt said. “And it’s a sweet ending.”

Joe said he has had two miracles this year. First, a heart transplant is the reason why he’s still here. Then, getting to reunite with his daughter.

Deborah is expected back in court Jan. 23.

By DeAndria Turner, WLKY

This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate partner and does not contain original CNN reporting.