A Son Back From the Void

Thousands of children are kidnaped every year and, sadly, many are never heard from again. The longer a youngster is gone, police say, the slimmer the hope for a safe return. That’s why the reunion of 22-year-old Kevin D. Portis with his parents on Tuesday tugs so at the heart.

In 1976, Portis, then 4, was reported missing from his Southern California home. This week he told his parents that he had grown up in Riverside County and Oakland. He says he dreamed he had a mother other than the woman who was raising him and that his suspicions increased when no one could produce his birth certificate.

Those doubts would have gone nowhere without the help of the woman’s granddaughter. The granddaughter, who does not wish to be publicly identified, had overheard other relatives discussing how the youngster known as Henry Miller joined the family. Although she knew she risked creating a rift in her family, she called a missing children’s hot line, which directed her to the Inglewood police. After investigating her tip, the police determined that the young man she knew as Miller is probably Kevin Portis. DNA tests may provide conclusive proof, but, for now, Portis himself has no doubts he has found his parents.

Portis’ natural mother isn’t sure that she wants anyone prosecuted in the kidnaping of Portis. What matters most to her is that she has him back now. And that has to give a little hope to many less-fortunate parents who still wonder where their missing children are.