For more than a decade, Annie -- a Montana woman whose name has been changed to protect her family’s privacy -- didn’t know if she would ever see her father again.

After her parents divorced, her father returned to his home country of Switzerland. When Annie was younger, there were visits and communication, but over time it faded.

“And then our communication just eventually dwindled to where I had no communication with him,” she said.

They briefly reconnected twice — once when she was a teenager and again at 18 — but each time, contact was lost again. By the time she turned 31, it had been more than 12 years since they had spoken.

“I searched and I searched and I searched for him and I could not find anything,” she said.

Still, she kept trying.

Turning to Red Cross

Looking for another way forward, Annie asked for help — and was pointed to the American Red Cross.

“I called the Red Cross in Switzerland,” she said. “They told me to reach out to the Red Cross here in Montana, and I got connected with Randy.”

Randy Warburton, a volunteer who lives in Belgrade, supports the Red Cross Restoring Family Links program, which helps reconnect family members separated by events like disasters, armed conflict, migration and other circumstances.

He called Annie back the next day and began working through the intake process. After gathering additional details and conducting follow-up interviews, national headquarters forwarded it through the international Red Cross network to Switzerland.

As part of the process, Randy traveled to meet Annie in person at a Montana Red Cross office.

Annie said hearing that her case had been sent to Switzerland changed everything.

“The weight off my shoulders was just incredible,” she said. “It was such a deep-breath moment.”

Search begins

As the Red Cross worked through its process, Annie continued to follow leads on her own. At Randy’s suggestion, she reached out to someone connected to her father’s past.

“I wouldn’t have done that if Randy wouldn’t have pushed me to do that for sure,” she said.

That outreach led to a current address, and Annie sent a letter.

At the same time, the Red Cross had also located her father and delivered a message she had written while meeting with Randy.

Annie’s father received the Red Cross letter the day before he received the one sent by Annie.

The call

Then came the call she had been waiting for in the past 12 years.

“He called me as soon as he got my number,” she said.

“I was so scared that he was not going to. I was prepared to be shut down.”

Instead, she heard his voice.

“I bawled my eyes out,” she said. “It was a surreal moment.”

A volunteer’s perspective

Randy understands what these moments mean to families like Annie’s.

He’s worked a handful of cases through the program and has also helped reconnect another person in our region with a family member in another country after 18 years apart.

“There’s nothing more gratifying than to help somebody in their time of need,” he said.

Randy said his motivation to volunteer is simple.

“I had a doctor tell me that I needed to keep helping people until the day I died because when I stopped helping people, then that’s the day I start dying.”

“If I’m going to invest time in a volunteer activity, I want it to be impactful. And this volunteer experience is.”

For Annie, the impact is clear.

“I would not have found him if it wasn’t for Randy,” she said. “And for the Red Cross.”

Looking ahead

Today, Annie and her father are back in contact — and planning to see each other in person.

She and her sister will travel to Switzerland in early December.

“I’m super excited,” she said. “I think about it every single day.”

Raising awareness

Before this experience, Annie didn’t know the Red Cross offered this service.

Now, she hopes others will learn about it.

“It really is a lifesaver,” she said.

Restoring Family Links The Red Cross helps find missing family members who have been separated by war, disaster, migration and other humanitarian emergencies. If you have a family member abroad and need help reestablishing contact, contact the Red Cross Restoring Family Links program online at American Red Cross Reconnecting Families or call the national helpline at 1-888-407-4747. All Red Cross services are free.