16-year mystery - Man willing to do DNA test to find out if he is woman’s son

Having seen his story in Tuesday's STAR, several readers were of the opinion that Junior Paige might be related to Janet Hardie, a St Ann businesswoman whose son went missing 16 years ago.

The issue came to the fore when a reader posted photos of Paige's story and the article on Hardie and her son on the popular 'Dear Dream' Instagram blog. Social media users were convinced that there was some resemblance between Paige and Hardie's son.

According to Paige, two years ago he found out he was not registered at birth by his mother. Paige does not know his biological father, and his stepfather couldn't assist with finding additional information about his family history either. He has tried getting a birth certificate, but the process has been tedious.

When THE WEEKEND STAR contacted Hardie earlier this week, she admitted that Paige may have some resemblance to her side of the family and stated that she is willing to do a DNA to prove if he was indeed her long lost son.

STRONGLY BELIEVES

However, Paige said he strongly believes that he is not Hardie's child, but he is willing to accommodate a DNA test.

"Me a go do it just to satisfy her, but really and truly all me want is mi birth certificate. Me nuh want no handouts. Me just want a good work and me have plans of going in the army," he said.

Hardie, however, told THE WEEKEND STAR that when she read the newspaper and saw the social media comments, she instantly felt nervous.

"I hardly slept since I saw the papers. I just want closure. I really don't know if this young man is my son, but a lot of persons are saying that he does resemble my little boy and I believe he may in some sense. However, if it turns out that he is not my child, I am still willing to offer my assistance," she said.

Hardie's son, Rojay King, mysteriously disappeared from the beach after she stepped about 10 feet away from him to answer a telephone call.

A group of persons searched the entire beach, but he was not found. Divers from a nearby resort were summoned and spent hours at sea looking for the boy, but there was no sign of him nor any clue about what had happened.

Hardie said that she has made numerous attempts to locate him, only to be scammed numerous times by unscrupulous persons claiming to know his whereabouts.