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'Alike in so many ways:' Florida cop discovers brother through 23andMe test — and he's a cop too

Posted at 3:15 PM, Aug 01, 2019
and last updated 2019-08-02 18:14:50-04

When Boynton Beach Police Office Eric Reynolds received an email in June, he had no idea it would change his life.

Reynolds completed a 23andMe test three years ago, in the hopes of learning more about his family's ancestry and heath. 23andMe specializes in at-hone genetics testing and analysis.

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Then last month he got an email that began like this.

“Good morning, my name is David Stull. According to 23andMe, we are half-brothers. I was adopted as an infant and have very little knowledge of my family history, so I have no way of knowing the validity of this.”

Reynolds says he was curious about the possibility of unknown relatives when he did the test, but he never imagined this.

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Stull is Reynolds' half-brother and, as fate would have it, he's also a law enforcement officer.

“It was overwhelming and exciting and bit of sadness at the same time," Reynolds said.

Stull is a sergeant at the Orange County Sheriff's Office.

"I have someone I can talk to, trust as brothers and cops. It feels great.”

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“It was like meeting a clone of me,” Reynolds said. "We’ve been texting all the time. We’re alike in so many ways."