The caption on the CBS page above reads:
So maybe it was a simple “hey, I look like that kid!” 
Newspapers would rather run with the story prior to genetic testing than after. The odds are low that there would be a story after. And, there’s no sense repeating the story again just because the news was verified.
I suspect that someone would have to directly contact the guy in question to find out the results of the test.
Of course he knows. I’m talking about his childhood. I mean was he raised like a normal kid or was he kept in a box for 12 years or something. I find it strange that someone who is damaged enough to take someones child would be normal enough to raise the child well.
The story does mention that the man has already contacted his possible sister and they had a private DNA test which confirmed they could be related.
The “could” bothered me. Anyone know the math on this?
It’s unlcear form the story, but it appears that the “sister” may be the offspring of his father from his second marriage. To quote “The father of the woman and the missing boy… divorced the boy’s mother a few years after the kidnapping and now lives on a farm with his wife, Charlotte.” Genetic similarity to half siblings averages 25% but ranges from 50% to 0%. Genetic similarity with any human being on the planet also covers the ranges from 50% to 0%. I’m not sure of the maths, but unike siblings where your odds of getting less than a 25% is tiny, the odds with a half sibling are even. So if the match returned say, 10%, that might indicate a possible half sibling or it might just be chance.
WTF do you mean “Of course he knows” He was 2 years old at the time that the event might have happened. He remembers no life at all except for with his “adopted” family. Of course he doesn’t know. How could he know? Where would he get such information?
Look, I’ll repeat it again: he doesn’t know. Nobody knows. There is no way for anybody to know. He was too young to even remember if he was kidnapped, much less remember his kidnapper’s face.
Maybe he was raised by his kidnapper. Maybe he wasn’t. Maybe he was never kidnapped. He doesn’t remember. He was too young.
I’m watching an interview on TV right now (Today show, NBC). He said his mother told him before his death that he wasn’t their biological child, but gave no more detail. His dad is alive and claims that he is their biological child.
The man who thinks that he’s Steven claims resemblance to living relatives of the kidnapped boy and a scar under his chin like in the kidnapped boy’s case. (I suspect a scar under the chin isn’t uncommon for a child learning to walk, though.)
I had the exact same reaction as Loach when I read the story. (At least, I think I did, sorry if I am putting words in your mouth.) What I am wondering is if his “adopted” parents raised him in what would be a considered a normal family environment, or if he suffered through an abusive situation. I know he wouldn’t remember when he was 2 … but how does he describe his childhood when he was 5? 10? 14?
In one of the news stories I saw, this man said he felt like he didn’t fit in with the family he was raised in … and that made me wonder if he felt that way because (for example) they had different interests and personalities but were otherwise nice people OR if he had spent his childhood being ill-treated and this is one of those terrible “he had to sleep in a crate in the basement” stories one sometimes hears about.
How many different ways does **Loach **have to ask? He’s asking about the kid’s childhood AFTER year 2. “of course he knows” because everybody knows how they were raised as a child.
Okay, this story just freaked me the hell out. I mean, it was upsetting because it’s a sad story in any event, but then I noticed that he went missing in Long Island, which is where I grew up. Then I saw that it was East Meadow - same town where my family lived until I was two. And Steven’s the same age as my brother would be. (My bro. died in 1963 in a pool accident, before I was born.)
A little too close to home, this. If my parents were alive I’d ask them about this story. My mom was always incredibly overprotective, understandably considering her son’s accident. But I’m wondering if this missing child tragedy in their own neighborhood also affected them.
So far I haven’t seen any info about what happened to the mother. I guess she’s no longer alive?
Missed the edit window, dammit:
Okay, according to this Newsday article, the mom IS alive but in a nursing home. Also, according to a letter received by one of her sons (who would be Steven’s half brother), Greer wrote that the woman he thought was his mother mentioned a kidnapping on her deathbed. That’s a bit more specific than some of the articles mention – they just said the woman uttered something about the boy not being her natural-born son. Hm.
Latest word is Probably so.
That’s just based upon the already known “private” DNA testing done with the half-sister. We won’t have better indication until the testing comparing him with his purported biological parents is completed.
Holy crap, I had to read this a couple times before this sunk in. The “father” who raised Barnes is still alive!
If Barnes really is Damman, then Barnes Senior is guilty of a pretty heinous crime. If not, he’s the victim of some pretty awful rumor-mongering by his own son!
That’s bizarre that there was an SDMB thread about this two years ago. This was one time when a bump was certainly appropriate.
This new “development” seems like a non-story that should have been cleared up with DNA tests with the Barnes’s father before hitting any news outlet.
Wow, at first I thought you were misreading the stories, but apparently I did. Relevant bits from this article:
Shouldn’t this be easy for Barnes Sr. to prove? Wouldn’t they have a birth certificate? Seems odd that this fairly obvious question isn’t being mentioned in the articles…
That was quick. The FBI says it’s not him
Well, you see, they have a “Certificate of Live Birth”, but it’s not the hospital original birth certificate, and he suspects that the state is involved in a massive cover-up of the truth.
Jeebus, the not-sister and not-nephew went on several television shows before the claim was substantiated at all? :smack: Some days I hate the media.
Very funny. 
A more complete story (including birth certificate info!) is on Newsday’s site:
That’s a real shame. It seems like Barnes Jr. is troubled and looking for some kind of connection. I hate that he gave the Dammans false hope, though. I must say when I looked at the kid’s picture and compared it to Barnes, I really did see a resemblence. Maybe it was just a sort of confirmation bias.
(Pointless addendum: the guy shares my birthday. Yet another coincidence!)
The Detroit Free Press has an online poll that asks: “Is Michigan man the missing boy?”
80% of those polled think that the answer is “Yes.” :rolleyes:
This is a perfect example of why polls are not the best way to determine facts.