pop ♪ tonight, one man's journey to find his birth family. >> they sat me down and told me who i was and what the true back story really is. a au stolen fromimaginable. his birth mother. >> to think for 38 years that your son died. it would be just devastating. >> put up for adoption like countless others as part of a plot sanctioned by the chilean government under the brutal pinochet regime. >> kidnapping, trafficking, judges, doctors, midwives, social assistants, they were all involved. >> our team on the ground, searching for answers. can we ask you some questions about the illegal adoption? >> what, if anything would you do differently? >> as a mother and son

reconnect. this special edition of "nightline," mi nino, chile's stolen children. we'll be right back.

this special edition of "nightline," "mi nino: chile's stolen children" continues. here now juju chang.

>> for nearly 40 years, hilda casada godoy dreamt about her baby boy, who she last saw in the maternity ward. [ speaking spanish ] >> born three months premature, too tiny to hold. she hadn't even pick his name. >> but decades later, a phone call to hilda's daughter changed everything. >> that little boy with the piercing dark eyes hadn't died. he'd been taken, stolen in a plot sanctioned by the government of she lay that defies the imagination.

tonight, a journey home. >> got the shakes a little bit. >> one man embracing a family he never knew. for the first time seeing a life that was taken away. >> harvey wants to say -- >> and we're on the ground in chile, searching for answers. >> our team made dozens and dozens of phone calms and inquiries. can we ask you some questions about the illegal adoption? >> uncovering the truth. what do you think about your role in what happened? >> of the shocking crimes carried out under the watchful eye of the pinochet dictatorship. >> kidnapping, trafficking. we are talking about 20,000 to 50,000 kids. >> it's inhumane. >> who was tyler graff before all this began? >> a 58-year-old man, i have a

wife and kid. i work for the houston fire department. being a firefighter, really, it's a calling. that was ingrained many me. whenever someone is in need of help, we're going to be there. i was adopted by a very loving, caring family. >> he was a happy little guy. he spent most of his childhood in minnesota. he skied. he played baseball. >> at what point did you tell him that he was adopted? >> you know, when he got old enough i think to understand what adoption was. i am not your birth mother. you were born to a family in chile. >> i brought your original documents. >> hilda carmen godoy, 26 years old. >> appeared before the judge and declared that she was the illegitimate mother. >> tyler's adoption paperwork says he was born in chile, and that his mother gave him up because she had several other children and couldn't support him. >> from now on, she gives up all rights as a parent.

>> my husband, i think it's been hard on him knowing that he was adopted and not feeling like he was want ed. i think he's always carried that on his sleeve. >> it is very convenient for the child that protection be granted. >> knowing that my story did start before i was adopted. so it's kind of like missing the first five minutes of the movie. you might have missed the plot. >> it's only after he became a father to his own son wyatt that tyler began digging into his past to learn more about his adoption. >> i was notified by my friend who is a chilean firefighter who helped connect with a nonprofit to help me locate my birth mother. >> and suddenly, a call he thought might never come. >> we were cooking dinner when we found out. i was in disbelief.

he is like shouting out like i can't believe it, i can't believe it. they found my biological mom. >> that must have been the shock of your life. >> yes. >> one phone call. >> yeah. >> that's when they sat me down and told me who i was, how they know who i am, and what the true back story really is. >> torture, arbitrary arrests and other human rights violations are still common in chile. >> the basic human rights goes back to ouster by the coup. >> we were a poor country. we have this dictatorship called augusto pinochet. chile was very oppressed. >> during general augusto pinochet's brutal regime, the coercion of adoptions happened,

thousands of babies taken around the world through a complex network that included hospitals, the catholic church and the chilean government. >> judges, doctors, midwives, social assistants, they were all involved. >> the american families like tyler's say they had no idea that the baby they'd adopted had been stolen. some experts believe it was a government tool meant to reduce poverty and control population. those targeted often the most vulnerable, single mothers, the poor, and indigenous women from the mapuchi community. >> they were selling kids. the moms of the families were lie to them. they didn't know that their kids were alive. so they're not looking for them. >> what was your immediate reaction when it dawned on you that oh my god, my son is alive?

>> after confirming the match through dna last year, the first video calls. and finally, a face-to-face reunion in texas, organized by univision. now after many month, it's time for tyler to go back to his birthplace, schile, for the ver first time. >> it's living a life out of my comfort zone. going to a foreign country i've never been to before. i don't speak the language fluently. i have that fear of sitting right in front of my birth mom and not being able to communicate or express my feelings. it's scary.

>> chile. >> i woke up to this morning, out here in the mountains. front porch of my birth mother's house. >> como se dice? the early bird gets the worm. [ speaking spanish ] >> tyler meeting the sisters he never knew he had. their family whole for the first time, even the mundane moments bristle with meaning. >> if anyone is going to catch

anything, it's my mom. they say she'll outfish anybody. >> transported. if only for a moment to a life that could have been. >> sad. ♪ >> do you grill at home, tyler? >> all the time. >> our day revolving around meals at the table, cooking. it's just -- >> the little things in life? >> oh, for sure.

♪ >> tambien. to be a good mother it doesn't take a fancy house. it doesn't take money. mama. it's pretty simple. it's open arms and a huge heart. ♪ filled with nothing but support and love. [ applause ] >> some people describe what happened to you as kidnapping. how do you see it? >> to tell a mother that their child died, i would call it kidnapping or stealing. to catch someone at their weakest moments and prey on that, it's disgusting. for lack of a better words, it's inhumane. >> outside the hospital for the first time, hilda and tyler are back where their story began. for them, the scene of a crime. it's a lot of emotion.

>> part of me wants to ask the administrator to come down. show them my dna test. and just say shame on you. >> what it represents is the beginning of this whole story, this whole atrocity that happened to so many. >> when we come back -- >> do you think at the time you knew that what was happening was wrong? >> the search for accountability. and we send tyler to see his adoptive mom. finding scribbles in a notebook that could now be evidence. >> that judge, at the tanya roman, these are social workers.

>> stay with us. before treating your chronic migraine, 15 or more headache days a month each lasting 4 hours or more, you're not the only one with questions about botox®. botox® prevents headaches in adults with chronic migraine before they even start, with about 10 minutes of treatment once every 3 months. so, ask your doctor if botox® is right for you, and if a sample is available. effects of botox® may spread hours to weeks after injection causing serious symptoms. alert your doctor right away, as difficulty swallowing, speaking, breathing, eye problems, or muscle weakness can be signs of a life-threatening condition. side effects may include allergic reactions, neck and injection site pain, fatigue, and headache. don't receive botox® if there's a skin infection. tell your doctor your medical history, muscle or nerve conditions and medications, including botulinum toxins, as these may increase the risk of serious side effects. in a survey, 92% of current users said they wish they'd talked to their doctor and started botox® sooner. plus, right now, you may pay zero dollars for botox®. ask your doctor about botox® today.

we do it every night. you maevery night.ollars for botox®. i live alone, but i still do it every night. right after dinner. definitely after meatloaf. like clockwork. do it! run your dishwasher with cascade platinum and save water. did you know an energy star certified dishwasher uses less than four gallons per cycle? while a running sink uses that, every two minutes. that means even small loads can save water. so why not do it? run your dishwasher every night with cascade platinum. the surprising way to save water. open talenti and raise the jar. to gelato made from scratch. raise the jar to all five layers. raise the jar to the best gelato... you've ever tasted. talenti. raise the jar. you've ever tasted. i don't just play someone brainy on tv - i'm an actual neuroscientist. and i love the science behind neuriva plus. unlike ordinary memory supplements, neuriva plus fuels six key indicators of brain performance. more brain performance? yes, please!

neuriva. think bigger. ♪ stack that cheddar, make it melt. ♪ ♪ cook it up, stretch it out. ♪ ♪ we're breaking the mold. ♪ ♪ estado dorado. ♪ ♪ shining like gold. ♪ ♪ estado dorado. ♪ ♪ vive en el estado dorado live in the golden state ♪ if you're a small business, there are lots of choices when it comes to your internet and technology needs. but when you choose comcast business internet, you choose the largest, fastest reliable network. you choose advanced security. and you choose fiber solutions with speeds up to 10 gigs to the most small businesses. make your business future ready with the network from the most innovative company. get internet and voice for $49.99 a month with a 2-year price guarantee. and ask how to get up to a $650 prepaid card

with a qualifying bundle. i'm 53, but in my mind i'm still 35. that's why i take osteo bi-flex, to keep me moving the way i was made to. it nourishes and strengthens my joints for the long term. osteo bi-flex. available at your local retailer and club.

this special edition of "nightline," "mi nino: chile's stolen children" continues. >> so these are just some fun things that i kept. this is in tamuco. so this is after we landed in santiago. and this is at the orphanage. we were giving you a little food there. >> carol graff memories to adulthood in a baby book,

tarnished with use. >> here we are bonding with you. i really wanted children of my own. i had been pregnant and lost a child. so we looked into adoption. these are notes that your dad and i wrote together. we signed the papers. we go to the orphanage. baby is brought in at 10:10. looking back, they present the baby to us and we're bonding with the baby, and all of the sudden it was like okay, we have to go. and we're all of the sudden going to the airport. with no tickets. why were we hurried out of there? >> we wanted to understand more about how these adoptions happened, the people behind this trauma. our team made dozens and dozens of phone calls and inquiries to top government officials, to the catholic church, to social worker, and yet answers are still elusive. we tried to speak to the judge, tatiana roman, who signed

tyler's adoption papers. hello? my name is juju chang. i'm with abc news from the united states. who's coming? someone else came to the door. buenas that tardes, senor. >> can we ask you some questions about the illegal adoption? clearly not in the mood to answer questions. but on a quiet street in a humble town, someone who saw this network up close, a woman who says she was an assistant at one of those chilean hospitals. she asked us not to use her name or show her face. when did you hear the midwives tell lies to the mothers?

>> do you think at the time you knew what was happening was wrong? >> si. >> and if you could go back in time, what, if anything would you do differently? >> boris berrera is a chilean congressman. and in 2018, he launched an inquiry into what happened. do you think people are being held accountable for what you describe as human rights violations and crimes?

>> barrera's investigation called for a truth and reparations commission and a dna database, but no one has been charged with a crime. >> we're past the punishment stage. i think we're just looking for them to admit what they've done and to help reunite people. >> each person has their own id number now in the system. >> tyler and his family created a nonprofit, connecting roots, to help other adoptees. >> so the kid is active. >> using kits from my heritage dna to test for potential matches. >> we have two groups, okay? >> in tyler, teaming up with con stanza del rio from the ng ngo nos buca.

>> we are running out of time. i am caring about the mothers and that t families to be reunited. >> this is a new case, a reunion between a brother and a sister. >> when we get a match, it's fast. it alleviates years and years of sifting through paperwork. >> who are the victims here? >> oh, for sure his mom. to think for 38 years that your son has been, you know -- died, it would be just devastating. i might be a victim, but i don't look at myself as that. >> why? >> i don't know. i think she is -- she's lost the most. >> when you talk to my other mom, she sent a letter just for you.

>> what did she say? >> it's a secret. it's a secret just between mothers. i'm not even allowed to look at it. >> i have two moms. si. i've had an amazing life, very fortunate. we always wondered about that one little piece of you. i don't think anyone should ever walk through life having a little empty spots. i think everyone deserves to be full. >> stay with us. my a1c stayed here, it needed to be here. ruby's a1c is down with rybelsus®. my a1c wasn't at goal, now i'm down with rybelsus®. mom's a1c is down with rybelsus®. (♪ ♪)

in a clinical study, once-daily rybelsus® significantly lowered a1c better than a leading branded pill. rybelsus® isn't for people with type 1 diabetes. don't take rybelsus® if you or your family ever had medullary thyroid cancer, or have multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2, or if allergic to it. stop rybelsus® and get medical help right away if you get a lump or swelling in your neck, severe stomach pain, or an allergic reaction. serious side effects may include pancreatitis. tell your provider about vision problems or changes. taking rybelsus® with a sulfonylurea or insulin increases low blood sugar risk. side effects like nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea may lead to dehydration, which may worsen kidney problems. need to get your a1c down? (♪ ♪) ask your healthcare provider about rybelsus® today.

want more restful sleep? nature's bounty gives you more with sleep3. the first ever triple action sleep supplement with 3 unique nighttime benefits to help you get a great night's sleep and wake feeling refreshed. live bountifully. nature's bounty.

within the very little time we've been an organization and we have been able to make a difference. i have high hopes. >> we only have so long on this planet. why not see how far you can take it. >> he was a big star. >> he was a big star. he was teaching me a lot. after my car accident, i wondered what my case was worth. >> he was a big star. he was teaching me a lot. so i called the barnes firm. when that car hit my motorcycle, insurance wasn't fair. so i called the barnes firm. it was the best call i could've made. atat t bararnefirmrm, our r inry a attneysys wk hahard i could've made. atat t bararnefirmrm, to get you the best result possible. call us now and find out what your case could be worth. you u mit bebe sprisised ♪ the barnes firm injury attorneys ♪