Six long-lost sisters are reunited thanks to social media – are you their missing

A week before Christmas, six sisters gathered in the basement of a home in Buffalo, New York, with the hope of finding their long-lost brother and making their family complete.   

The six young women made something of a long-shot by recording a short video message to the world and posting it on TikTok.

‘If your name is Giovanni … and you were born in Tampa General Hospital … on February 14, 2009 … and you’re 15 years old … and your parents are the doctors who delivered you … we’re your sisters and we wanna meet you!’ they recited in unison.

The video was the plan of Catrina Palmer, the eldest of the siblings who they affectionately call ‘the mastermind’. 

‘She’ll get these ideas, like, we’re all running off to Europe together,’ said Monica Juliana, 18, to the Tampa Bay Times. 

‘So we did the video to humor her, and I was thinking, “Nobody is going to see this.”‘

The 14-second clip quickly went viral with more than 64 million views on TikTok and millions more on Instagram as the public met Catrina, 25, and Gigi Palmer, 23, of Tampa; Alexia, 20, Anna Bowerman, 19, of Ohio and Bella Bowerman, 13, of Buffalo; and Monica, who lives in West Virginia.

Some of those commenting offered theories and questioned whether Giovanni even knew he was adopted while also debating the ethics of their viral search.

But the six appear determined that nothing will get in the way of their quest to find him.

Catrina and her sister Gigi were the first to enter the foster system. Their biological parents, Devin and Tiffany Juliana, struggled with addiction, with their lives unraveling long before most of their seven children were born.

Catrina arrived when her mother was just 16. By the time she and Gigi were toddlers, their parents were caught in a cycle of courtrooms and arrests, fleeing Tampa to Buffalo and back again. 

When their father went to prison, their mother surrendered to police, violating a Florida court order by leaving the girls with their grandmother. 

Social services intervened, and the sisters were placed into the foster system.

But the home they landed in was not the warm, nurturing environment they deserved.

‘Everything was super rationed out,’ Catrina recalled. ‘We could have cereal but no milk. We had to be outside all day. Clearly, it was just meant to bring in money.’

Fate intervened when a hospital surgical tech saw their photo. 

Cathy and Bill Palmer, having lost a teenage daughter to leukemia, felt compelled to take in the girls. 

Just as the adoption was finalized, a court in Florida terminated their biological parents’ rights. 

Unbeknownst to the sisters, across the country, more of their siblings were facing the same fate.

In Buffalo, three more sisters – Alexia, Anna, and Bella, 13 – were adopted by a nearby family. 

Monica, meanwhile, experienced a more turbulent path, bouncing between foster homes before being adopted by a compassionate teacher in West Virginia. 

Though the sisters were raised apart, their similarities were uncanny.

‘We were all raised quite differently, but in terms of personalities, we’re so similar. We even have the same mannerisms,’ Catrina said. 

‘After knowing each other for a few minutes, we were snuggled up and talking about everything. It just instantly felt like home.’

For years, Catrina and Gigi believed their biological family had forgotten them but that changed when a friend asked if she had ever searched for her birth parents. 

One simple Google search later, Catrina found a post on an adoption registry: ‘We just want to know they’re okay.’

When she showed sister Gigi, the women agreed that they had to reach out. 

Within days, they were talking to their biological aunt. Soon after, they spoke to Monica and Bella for the first time. 

‘I felt like I was talking to my mini-me,’ Catrina recalled. ‘It was like God copied and pasted our personalities.’

From there, the missing pieces started to fall into place. 

They found Alexia and Anna and reconnected with their biological parents, who had since become clean and built a stable life for themselves. 

And yet, one name remained out of reach – Giovanni.

Born in Tampa on Valentine’s Day in 2009, Giovanni was the only sibling the sisters have never met. 

Their biological father recalled that doctors had adopted him, but beyond that, there was nothing with no paper trail or any kind of public record. 

In the world of closed adoptions his identity had vanish.

Frustrated by dead ends, Catrina turned to the only tool she had left: social media.

The viral TikTok ignited an online frenzy, with thousands of internet sleuths joining the mission.

‘We have so many people helping us, which is pretty cool,’ Catrine said to Today.

Leads poured in, some more promising than others. But even as hope flickered, the question lingered: What if Giovanni didn’t want to be found?

‘We don’t want to mess up his life,’ Catrina admitted. ‘We just want him to know that we exist and we love him, and we’re here if he ever wants us.’

Two months on since their TikTok video spread like wildfire, they still haven’t found Giovanni, but he sisters refuse to let any uncertainty dampen their joy. 

They text constantly, offering words of encouragement, sharing memes, and planning reunions as the sisters are spread out across the country in Florida, New York and West Virginia.

‘If someone is having a hard day, we’re all on FaceTime cheering her up,’ Catrina says. ‘We’re making up for lost time.’ 

Catrina tattooed each of their names on her fingers, a permanent reminder of the bonds they share.

Their adoptive families have also come to accept the sprawling, unconventional connection. 

Even their biological parents, once absent, now play a cautious but present role in their lives.

‘They own a home and two dogs,’ Catrina said with a quiet pride, a small but significant testament to the progress they’ve made.

But their search is continuing and the six long-lost sisters continue to remain hopeful they will find the missing piece to their family jigsaw.

‘Once we find Giovanni, we’ll be complete,’ Catrina said. ‘I know he’s out there, and we can’t wait to meet him.’