Briefing
On 23 October 2026, Carlos Ramírez and his biological father, Idelmo Medina, met in person for the first time in the arrivals hall of Terminal 4 at Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas the airport. According to consistent media reports, both were under considerable emotional strain; when Medina arrived, they embraced and were visibly moved.
Ramírez, who was born in Venezuela and has lived in Spain since 2006, only learnt in his teens that he had been adopted. After decades of searching, he used a commercially available DNA test, to identify possible relatives. Through the platform MyHeritage genetic matches emerged, which he followed up with traditional family research: contacts with relatives in the Canary Islands, information gathered by telephone and cross-checking the clues he had found eventually led him to identify Idelmo Medina.
The two were in direct contact by telephone and video call for around nine months before meeting in Madrid . Reports give Ramírez’s age as 41 and Medina’s as 63. Details of the location, date, ages and role of the DNA test can be corroborated in several Spanish media reports, which are broadly consistent.
The case illustrates a growing number of family reunions made possible by readily available DNA tests. Such cases regularly raise questions about the privacy of genetic information, informed consent and psychosocial support when family connections are suddenly restored. In Spain, these searches are mostly conducted privately; state authorities are directly involved only in special cases, such as criminal investigations or missing-person cases.
The key facts in this report — the meeting on 23 October 2026 at Terminal 4 of Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas, the search using a DNA test through MyHeritage and the ages of those involved — are based on consistent information from several news reports. Statements about the future development of the relationship between Ramírez and Medina are personal comments by those involved, and what happens next remains uncertain.
Editor: Mira Cadena (Article created with AI assistance).