Jenifer de la Rosa was just a week old when Colombia’s Nevado del Ruiz volcano exploded, unleashing a wall of mud that buried an entire town and left 25,000 dead.
In the aftermath of the 1985 disaster the infant was handed over to a Red Cross worker and eventually adopted by a Spanish couple.
Now a documentary filmmaker, she’s been on a quest to answer one question that has haunted her: What happened to her biological family?
Jenifer De La Rosa, left, comforts her sister Angela Rendon, right, during a press conference in Bogota, Colombia, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2019. The story of the lost sisters could be one of many involving children who were separated from their parents after the Nevado del Ruiz erupted, rescued from the rubble and later put up for adoption after no relative arrived to claim them . A genetic institute in Colombia's capital confirmed through DNA testing that Jenifer De La Rosa and Angela Rendon are sisters. (AP PhotoFernando Vergara)
On Thursday, a genetic institute in Colombia announced it has solved part of the puzzle, with scientists revealing they have confirmed through DNA testing that a woman still living in the country is her sister.
The story of the lost sisters could be one of many involving children affected by Nevado del Ruiz.
Doctor Juan Yunis, left, talks to the media as Francisco Gonzalez director of the Armando Armero Foundation, second left, Jenifer De La Rosa, second right, and Angela Rendon, left, listen during as press conference in Bogota, Colombia, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2019. The story of the lost sisters could be one of many involving children who were separated from their parents after the Nevado del Ruiz erupted, rescued from the rubble and later put up for adoption after no relative arrived to claim them . A genetic institute in Colombia's capital confirmed through DNA testing that Jenifer De La Rosa and Angela Rendon are sisters. (AP PhotoFernando Vergara)
An employe of a genetic institute prepares a DNA sample in Bogota, Colombia, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2019. The genetic institute through DNA tests was able to verify that two women who were given up for adoption one in Spain and other in Colombia, after the Nevado del Ruiz erupted in 1985, are sisters. (AP PhotoFernando Vergara)
An employe of a genetic institute works with a DNA sample in Bogota, Colombia, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2019. The genetic institute through DNA tests was able to verify that two women who were given up for adoption one in Spain and other in Colombia, after the Nevado del Ruiz erupted in 1985, are sisters.(AP PhotoFernando Vergara)