BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — A woman in Canada is looking to bring an end to a decades-long search for her father, who she says at one point in time, lived in Bakersfield.
For the last 30 years, Patricia Huscroft has been left with many questions. Now, at the age of 44, she just wants those answers before it's too late.
Every day she goes through life wondering who is her father? Will she ever get to meet him? Now she’s hoping Bakersfield will be able to help.
“Who do you belong to? That wonder, I always wonder and who is he and what is he like, and do we look alike?” Huscroft said.
Huscroft said she has been looking for her father, who she says is Mike Latham, ever since she was 14 years old. She said at that time she contacted his stepfather to get in touch with her dad, but it didn't work out as she hoped.
“I called back about half an hour later and he said sorry 'honey no',” she said. “I was just devastated at the time. It was just too much to take and I didn't want to try anymore.”
That persistence didn’t fade away though. Years later, she now forgives her father for not being a part of her life.
“Maybe it would’ve disrupted his life, and I understand that. And it's hurtful when you're younger, but I think you move through it when you get older.”
Now she's attempting to find her dad one last time, but the search isn’t easy when you have so few details.
“I know his father's last name was Cox so his step-dad's Richard Latham, so I think he took his step-father's last name. I know his mom’s name was Betty. I know he has a sister Patty, they call her Patty or Pat."
Huscroft, who now lives in Canada, says her parents had a brief relationship and that her mother doesn’t know much about her dad
“She just knew he went back to Bakersfield and she's never spoken with him again.”
After a post on Facebook to a Kern County group, Huscroft’s inbox began flooding with messages.
“Message after message, ’Is this your dad? Does he live here? Here's the number to this guy.’ I’ve just been searching up everything they send me and looking through everything.”
She’s hopeful the community will bring them together before time runs out.
“I want to meet him, I want to meet him before he dies. I don't want to look at a stone and not ever see my father.”
If she does find him and if he is willing, Huscroft says she’d travel to see her father without hesitation.
“I would in a heartbeat be on a plane, in a heartbeat be in a car. I would get to him any way I can for sure.”
Huscroft couldn't be more thankful for the outpouring of love from the community. She even says she even had a private investigator reach out to her trying to help.
If you have any information that could be helpful to Huscroft's search, you can contact her here.
