.jpg "Melissa Highsmith was reunited with her parents, Alta Apantenco and Jeffrie Highsmith, 51 years after she was kidnapped in Fort Worth, Texas, the family announced on Nov. 27.")
Melissa Highsmith was reunited with her parents, Alta Apantenco and Jeffrie Highsmith, 51 years after she was kidnapped in Fort Worth, Texas, the family announced on Nov. 27.
Courtesy of the family
The Fort Worth woman who was kidnapped as a toddler and reunited with her family 51 years later is publicly telling her story for the first time on a seven-episode podcast series this fall.
The first episode of “Baby: The Melissa Highsmith Story” aired Sept. 21. Host and producer Sean Kipe said Highsmith’s case is unique both for the length of time she was missing and the fact she was found safe after so many years.
“Hearing that story, I want to know more. I want to know what happened and how this all really came together, and who, if anyone, is held accountable,” Kipe told the Star-Telegram in a phone interview Wednesday. “And so I imagine there’s probably a lot of other people who are curious about that too.”
“Baby: The Melissa Highsmith Story” is airing as a podcast this fall. The last two episodes will be released Oct. 26 and Nov. 2 respectively. Courtesy of Sean Kipe
Melissa Suzanne Highsmith was just 21 months old when she was abducted from her Fort Worth home on Aug. 23, 1971. Her parents had recently separated, and her mother, Alta Apantenco, was working as a waitress to support herself and her young daughter. A woman who identified herself as Ruth Johnson responded to Apantenco’s newspaper ad looking for a babysitter.
Apantenco asked the woman to meet her at the downtown restaurant where she worked, but the prospective babysitter never showed up. But when Johnson called again later and really seemed to want the job, Apantenco arranged for her to watch Melissa the following Monday, according to Star-Telegram archives.
Apantenco was already at work when the woman — wearing long white gloves and dark glasses — came to pick up Melissa from the apartment. “I’ve come to pick the baby up,” she told Apantenco’s roommate, according to Star-Telegram archives. “It’s all been arranged with the mother.”
The roommate handed over the toddler, along with an extra set of clothing and diapers. A short time later she heard a car with a loose muffler driving away, according to Star-Telegram reporting at the time. The woman never brought Melissa back, leaving a heartbroken Apantenco wondering what had become of her baby.
.jpeg "Melissa-Highsmith-missing-person-pictur_fitted (1).jpeg")
A Texas Department of Public Safety missing person bulletin for Melissa Highsmith, who was kidnapped as a toddler in 1971 and found in November 2022 in Fort Worth, according to her family. Texas DPS
On Nov. 26, 2022, Melissa Highsmith was reunited with her parents after a DNA test confirmed her identity. The then-53-year-old Highsmith had no idea she’d been kidnapped or that her family had spent decades searching for her.
The lost years
Kipe, who is based in Atlanta, said this is the first Texas true-crime story that he’s featured on his podcast.
“I know that there was a story here to tell,” he said. “I know that there’s a lot of horrible, traumatic things involved in this story, but I know there’s also a lot of beautiful aspects to the story, and so that really appealed to me.”
In “Baby,” Highsmith recounts her life as Melanie, the name she was raised under. She’s previously alluded to the abuse she endured in her kidnapper’s home, but this is the first time she has shared those details publicly.
“Hearing her speak, hearing her family speak, you know about … everything that’s transpired in these 50-plus years is so sad and just infuriating,” Kipe said. “But to hear Melissa talk on the other side of all of this, and hear her outlook on life, and her positivity, and her hope for the future, and not holding, you know, hate in her heart, and holding no grudges — that’s just so inspirational.”
Melissa Highsmith was raised under the name Melanie Miyoko in Fort Worth, just 10 minutes away from the apartment where she’d been abducted as a toddler in August 1971. Now Highsmith is sharing her story publicly for the first time on the podcast series “Baby: The Melissa Highsmith Story.” Courtesy of Sean Kipe Melissa’s Law
The statute of limitations expired on Highsmith’s case decades before she was found. Even though her abductor can never be prosecuted, Highsmith is working to change that for other families through “Melissa’s Law.”
The proposed legislation would remove the statute of limitations on kidnapping in Texas. A petition for “Melissa’s Law” has garnered nearly 225 signatures toward a 10,000-signature goal.
“We think it’s time that these statutes are removed,” Kipe said.
The sixth and seventh episodes of “Baby” will air on Oct. 26 and Nov. 2 respectively. The podcast is available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
Ultimately, Kipe said, the podcast is about helping others who are looking for answers.
“That really is her reason for doing this,” Kipe said. “She wants to provide a little hope where she can, that, ‘Look, if it can happen to me, I’m living proof, you know, it can happen to you too. You can find your loved one. You can get help, you know, there’s some light at the end of the tunnel.’”
This story was originally published October 24, 2026 at 3:13 PM.
Related Stories from Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Harriet Ramos covers crime and other breaking news for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.