'I won the DNA lottery': Woman finds biological father after lifelong search

Bernice Clarke callsthe moment she found her biological father miraculous.

For decades, she had been searching for aman she knew nothing about;asking around Iqaluit to seeif people might have known him, browsing ancestry websites to see if she could find a connection.

But at 41,Clarke knew how unlikely it was for her to find him after all these years, especially knowingmanyfriends and co-workers who have also been searching for their dads for years and haven't had any luck.

But last month, things changed.

Shegot a notification from an ancestry website, matching her with her biological father, Guy Trinque.

"I stood up as if the computer was on fire and I started saying'Oh my god! Oh my god!' over and over," Clarke said.

It turns out Trinque, who was adopted,had beenfrequenting the same online ancestry siteas Clarke.

Trinque, who now lives in Montreal, had no idea he was Clarke's father until she reached out to him.

Acouple of weeks ago, theyhadtheir first phone call.

"We were both giggling, we sounded like we were teenagers," Clarke said, smiling.

Clarke says it was hard to decipher Trinque's thick French-Canadian accent and the phone line keptcuttinginandout, which madethe call a little difficult.

"I was trying so hard to catch every word, because this is a moment I've been waiting for since I was a little girl," Clarke said.

Not an easy find

Over the years, Clarke's mother, who died last year, offered little help with her search.Clarke saysthere were also too many times when she hadgotten her hopes up for nothing.

"I knew I fit insomewhere, I looked like someone, I act like someone," Clarke had told herself, trying to remain optimistic.

In February, she had a glimmer of hope whenone of her mother's cousins said herdad might be a man namedBernard.

Excited for a new lead, Clarke posted a message on an Iqaluit Facebook group, hoping someone knew a Bernard who was in the city in the 70s.

Soon enough, she got in contact with Bernard, whoconsented to aDNA test.

But, as she now knows, this man was not her father.

"It hurt.It really hurt," Clarke said, taking in a deep breath. "It shattered me."

For months afterwards, Clarke abandoned her search for her father,like she had many times before.

Until that day a few weeks ago.

"I'm still in shock," Clarke said. "I won the DNA lottery."

A lot in common

Clarke says she has more incommon with her dad thanlooks.

She says theyhave both worked for the airline industry, they're both entrepreneurs, they've both dabbled in acting, andlove to travel.

Soon after connecting with Clarke, Trinquewrote a letter to his daughterexplaining how he met her motherin the summer of 1974 in Iqaluit when he was in the community for work.

And if I'dknown about you, Iwould have chosen to be a part of your life,Trinque wrote.

Those words mean everything to Clarke.

"It heals those moments when I was a little girl, when I was 20, when I was 30," Clarke said, her voice shaking.

Clarke andTrinqueare planning to meet in person soon, but for nowthey're catching up with frequent phone calls.

So far, Clarke has learned shehas onesister.

As for her dad? He has five grandchildren.