Barbara Quee (39) can’t believe her luck. Born in Colombia, who was adopted bya Dutch couple in 1984, she has found her biological mother. The mismatch istherefore due to the television program Traceless definitively proven.
Barbara Quee is the whistleblower who, together with her friend and partnerFiona Teggatz and journalist Kees van der Spek, brought to light a number ofmismatches in October of this year. Traceless. The KRO-NCRV program traceslost relatives and ensures reunification. The RTL5 program Scammers dealtwith van Van der Spek exposes the Colombian fixer Edwin Vela as a fraudster.Vela, who years before Traceless but also worked for the Wereldkinderenfoundation, linked adoptees to the wrong biological parents.
‘Criminal purposes’
Barbara Quee is a victim of Vela. She participates in 2005 Traceless. Thebroadcast states that her biological mother has been found. However, Quee istold that her mother has gotten into trouble. “During that broadcast I wastold that she could not come into the public eye because she would be inhiding from the police. That would have to do with her identity, which wouldbe used for criminal purposes. A story that left me with a lot of questions.Why could Traceless find her and the police can’t? Traceless would goafter two brothers, but I never heard from them again.”
She lets it rest, but in 2008 she meets another adopted boy (Diego), also avictim of Edwin Vela. ,,I started a new search, via Vela to whom we had totransfer money every time. It felt like a second chance. I asked _Traceless_for support, but that ultimately did nothing.”
Quote >>> My mother always thought I died shortly after birth. So it’s all very> intense for her>> Barbara Quee
With her friend Fiona Teggatz, Barbara Quee starts her own research agency,the Buscas Tu Familia En Colombia foundation. They bring to light anothermismatch, that of Kristian van der Mark. Van der Mark was also once coupled byVela to a mother and a half-brother who turns out not to be a brother twentyyears later. His mother disappeared during the Traceless recordings. AfterVan der Spek the mismatch in October in his broadcast _Scammers dealt with_shows, KRO-NCRV is investigating ‘sixteen cases from the program _Traceless_involving a Colombian fixer (Vela)’. The broadcaster confirms two ‘mismatches’of Dutch people who are not linked to the correct biological parents inColombia.
Read also: Victim of Spoorloos charlatan: ‘Transferred a few hundred euros toso-called half-brother’
Real mother
Barbara Quee is still looking for her real biological mother. Around thebroadcast of Van der Spek in October offers Traceless her the opportunity todonate DNA for the database My Ancestry. On November 10, she receives agratifying message. “My DNA material matched that of a brother in Colombia. Acomplete surprise. I was so happy. A day later we were already emailing.”
Her brother appears to have an adoption file with their mother’s identitydocuments. “My brother had never gone looking for himself, but with thosepapers Fiona and I quickly tracked her down,” says Barbara. Last weekend shereceived the happy news: a DNA test offered 100% certainty. “We have beenvideo calling. I definitely plan to visit my brother and mother in Colombia. Ihave heard parts of her story. She always thought I died shortly after birth.So it’s all very intense for her.”
It still irritates Barbara Quee that Derk Bolt, the presenter of _Traceless_it on the talk show _Khalid & Sophia _recorded for Edwin Vela. “He doubtedthat Vela had cheated someone, but that is now clear.”
KRO-NCRV: ‘The mother we found earlier was not the right one’
In a statement, KRO-NCRV says that ‘Barbara is very happy that this has put anend to the doubts about her origin and search’. “At the same time, we are alsovery aware of the fact that the lost time can unfortunately no longer be madeup,” said the broadcaster.
Following the TV broadcast Scammers dealt with of Kees van der Spek, whobrought mismatches to light together with Barbara Quee, the broadcasterreceived questions about the outcome of searches by Traceless between 2002and 2010 in Colombia. “That is why we have appointed company detective agencyHoffmann as an external independent investigation agency to investigate whathappened during and around searches in Colombia, in which a local aid wasinvolved.”
“Our first concern was and is the well-being of former participants involved.In recent weeks we have had intensive contact with all former participants ofcases in which a local aid in Colombia has been involved in the past. Ifdesired, we took DNA material from these participants. We will – as far aspossible – also take DNA from family we found in Colombia to get completecertainty. We also have contact with former participants who have expressedquestions or doubts in response to our call, and we make every effort toanswer those questions and offer support where possible.”
,,A first result is a DNA match of former participant Barbara Quee. Becausethere were no further leads in her search, we took DNA material from Barbaraand sent it to an international DNA database. From the analysis of thedatabase a full relationship was found with a brother. She subsequently foundher biological mother in Colombia herself. This has established that themother we found earlier was not the right one.”
,,Of the total of sixteen cases in which the local aid has been involved, itis now known that there is no match three times and two times a match has beenconfirmed by previous DNA research. With the current investigation, we hope toget answers to why things went wrong in the past.”