Father reunites with daughter 42 years after alleged abduction by mother

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WLKY) - For more than four decades, a Kentucky father held onto hope he would see his little girl again. She was just 3 years old when she and her mother disappeared. Now, the child missing since 1983 has been reunited with the family that never stopped searching for her.

What was once a cold case has become a warm reunion for Joe Newton and his daughter, Michelle – a story of reuniting, forgiveness and moving forward.

“She’s always been in our heart. I can’t explain that moment walking in and getting to put my arms back around my daughter,” Joe Newton said.

He last saw Michelle when she was just 3 years old. In 1983, he and his wife, Debra Leigh Newton, were preparing to move to Georgia. Debra Newton left early with their daughter, and when Joe Newton arrived, they wer