Woman finds long-lost father in Colorado through television show

DENVER ( KDVR ) — A woman found her biological father, who didn’t even know she existed, in Colorado while participating in a television show.

Jen Kelly always knew she was adopted. Kelly said she knew her biological mother moved to Denver, then got pregnant and didn’t tell her family. After she gave birth, she left the hospital without Jen.

Now, with a family of her own, Jen followed a series on BYUtv called “ Relative Race ,” which finds family members across the country through a competition. So, at 53 years old, Jen and her daughter, Leland Kelly, decided to join the series and find Jen’s side of the family.

The series uses genetic experts to find long-lost relatives, and the show features several families racing across the country in a competition to find the most long-lost relatives with only a state map.

During the 10-day journey, Jen and Leland found several relatives throughout Colorado and across the United States, including Jen’s biological father, Dale Koehler, who is 79 years old and lives in Sterling.

The first episode in Season 15 aired on Sunday, which showed Jen and Leland’s first mission of finding a relative, but when they pulled up to the Sterling house, they had no idea who to expect.

Before the two joined the show, Jen’s adoptive father wasn’t in the picture. Leland hadn’t met her grandfather, but that changed when Jen’s birth father walked out of the Sterling house.

“It was an amazing feeling to have a dad again in my life and to feel so loved instantly,” said Jen.

The pair met up with several other relatives across Colorado, finding family in Denver, Sterling, Fowler and Colorado Springs. Now, they have several additions to the family whom they talk to often. More episodes of the show are being released, where Jen and Leland go through the state, and across the country, to find the rest of Jen’s side of the family.

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