Mother searching for daughter deceived by imposter for a year

A mother who hoped to find her long-lost daughter was devastated to discover she had been deceived for a year by an individual posing as her child.

The only thing 57-year-old Sian Williams had left of her estranged daughter, Tilly, was a photograph. Tilly was taken into care when she was just six months old, not due to any fault of Sian's.

Sian's ex-partner, Timothy Jenkins, was convicted of manslaughter in October 1996 in connection with the death of their five-year-old daughter, Jessica, and sentenced to 10 years in prison. Tilly was raised elsewhere, and Sian saw her during supervised visits until she was two, after which Tilly was adopted.

Sian received updates and photos of her daughter, but contact was severed once Tilly turned 18. Sian lost her daughter completely.

Years later, Sian posted in Facebook groups related to adoption, searching for her daughter. She included Tilly's birth name and date of birth.

Seven years later, she received a message from a woman. She introduced herself as Tilly, and after Sian confirmed the correct birth date, she believed she had finally found her daughter.

The woman called herself Cindy and claimed to have four children. Sian sent her all the photos she had kept of Tilly. Cindy compared her own photos with the baby pictures, claiming there was a resemblance.

Cindy even suggested a DNA test but later backed out. Fearing she might lose her daughter again, Sian did not press the issue.

They communicated via video calls. Cindy told Sian that her boyfriend was abusive and that he had even made her take her children to meet Jessica's killer in prison.

Fearing she would lose her daughter again, Sian sent her 150 pounds to help her leave her abusive boyfriend.

In October 2025, Sian drove for four hours to meet the woman she believed to be Tilly in person. As they grew closer, Sian even moved to be near her family and removed her name from the adoption contact register.

However, just as everything seemed to be falling into place, a message arrived from another woman. She claimed that Cindy was not Sian's real daughter and had done this before.

When Sian confronted Cindy with suspicion, she asked her to block the woman. But then two more people came forward with similar information.

Sian sent a final message asking Cindy to admit the truth. The reply left her even more devastated:

“I’m sorry, I just wanted a mom, someone who would put me first. I’ve never had that.”

Sian began to realize she had been deceived. She believes Cindy found Tilly's birth date through her Facebook post. She also suspects Cindy realized Sian wouldn't demand a DNA test for fear of ruining their relationship.

Sian suspects the abusive boyfriend Cindy mentioned might not have been real either. Thus, the 150 pounds sent were also wasted.

After a year of hope and waiting, Sian is applying to return to the adoption contact register. Her search for Tilly continues.

The mother is now afraid of being deceived again. She worries that even if the real Tilly appears, she might not be able to trust her.

“This experience has completely destroyed my trust in people,” — said Sian.