Katharina Buczek
“I just always believed that she would find me. That was something I always believed in myself– that she would come and find me. It was the same way I thought it would happen,” Joy said after receiving the news.
After their relationship was confirmed, Carlina and her birth parents began speaking on the phone. At first, she struggled to build a natural-feeling relationship with her birth father, but the family did not give up.
Then, Carlina finally flew to New York in order to meet them in person. The media caught wind of Carlina’s solved case and swept the White family up in a frenzy of interviews and features.
All of the outside pressure felt unnatural to Carlina, who wanted to foster a relationship with her biological parents on her own terms. After feeling rushed, she ended up pulling away from her newfound family.
Annugetta “Ann” Pettway
Ann had gone on the run after word of her role in the abduction hit the media. But, after the FBI issued a warrant for her arrest, Ann finally turned herself in on January 23, 2011.
She explained how she had suffered numerous miscarriages and kidnapped Carlina out of emotional desperation.
And, even after everything, Ann still held a special place in Carlina’s heart. After all, Ann was the only person Carlina ever considered “mom” for the first two decades of her life.
Carlina White Now
Formerly re-named Nejdra Nance, she legally changed her name back to Carlina White– her birth name. Nonetheless, Carlina still goes by her childhood nickname “Netty.”
She did later reconnect with her biological family again after the pressure died down. And she still thinks about Ann from time to time.
