Brothers meet for the 1st time after spending nearly 60 years apart

After being separated for almost six decades, Martin Hauser was finally able to meet his younger brother, Joe Shaw, for the first time — and the happy occasion was made even sweeter by the fact that it took place right before Shaw's wedding.

Hauser was adopted as a baby in 1962 in North Carolina. After he started having his own children, Hauser decided he wanted to learn more about his biological parents and any siblings he might have, and the Arizona resident tried everything to get information — he took DNA tests and visited ancestry websites and adoption Facebook groups, but kept coming up short.

Last December, the Children's Home Society was able to track down his biological father's death certificate, and listed as his next of kin was Shaw. Within 15 minutes, Hauser found Shaw on Facebook and sent him a message. Shaw told WXII he read his note in absolute disbelief, and his fiancée encouraged him to call Hauser. That was the first of what would become their almost daily phone calls, and last month, the brothers were finally able to see each other in person, when Hauser came to North Carolina for Shaw's wedding.

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Shaw said he felt "ecstatic" to get to know his brother, and Hauser was excited about meeting ever more relatives at the wedding. Hauser told WXII he hopes his story will inspire others who are struggling to uncover information about their biological families, as he "never gave up" on finding Shaw. Catherine Garcia