LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — Mary Klein traveled to Las Vegas this week searching for her mother, who has been missing for 32 years.
Klein said she was separated from her mother as a child after her parents divorced. She later discovered she was adopted. She says she lost contact with her adoptive mother, Song Kim Bartley, in 1994.
Klein said decades of failed letters and citations showed her mother living homeless in Utah. A new lead brought Klein to Las Vegas this week.
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Klein says Police confirm mother is alive
Shortly after arriving in Las Vegas, Klein says she received a call from Las Vegas police.
“And they actually got back with me this morning and let me know that she is alive. So, we’re closing the missing persons case,” Klein said.
Klein said she found out her mother was cited near Fremont Street as recently as June.
“And she was cited for having a shopping cart with that one,” Klein said.
Searching downtown corridors
Klein carried photos of her mother through downtown corridors and homeless shelters, asking people if they had seen her.
Klein said witnesses recognized her mother from the photo.
“There were about 12 people that recognized her from this picture. And they definitely said that was her. Even some of the security guards in the area said this is her,” Klein said.
Klein said her search has been shaped by fear of being one step too late.
“So, that’s part of, I guess, the difficulty of this trip is it’s sort of like reliving the nightmare. I’m almost there, but she’s not quite there yet. And I don’t want to leave here without talking to her because then that’s like the nightmare,” Klein said.
A message for her mother
Klein said if she finds her mother before leaving Las Vegas, she has one message for her.
“I’m going to tell her you’re hard to find. And that I love her. And I’m sorry that things turned out how they were. But, I want to talk to her. I want to just talk to her. I don’t want to judge her. I don’t want to press her or push her into doing anything she doesn’t want to do,” Klein said.
Klein’s search continued into the night. She says if anyone finds her mother, she hopes they tell her that Klein wants to connect again.
“I want them to tell her that I just want to talk to her, that I love her. Please, she’ll break my heart if she refuses to talk to me,” Klein said.
Klein said the poster she has been using shows an AI-generated photo depicting her mother’s appearance now, since she has not been able to obtain a recent photo. Klein said she has heard from locals who say they have seen a woman matching the description.
Klein has searched the Salvation Army, the Courtyard, and the Rescue Mission, believing her mother is in the downtown Las Vegas area. Klein will continue searching for her mother until this weekend, when she is scheduled to fly home to Florida.
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