Heartbreaking mystery of my long-lost Papa
Canadian Shayleen searched for her Scots grandpa Colin.. then found he’d died alone just 25 minutes from her
A SCOT died alone in Canada without knowing he lived just 25 minutes away from his long-lost family.
Colin Cornin, from Bellshill in Lanarkshire, passed away unaware his Canadian granddaughter had been searching for him for years but believed he was still in Scotland.
Shayleen Frank, from Calgary, Alberta, began looking for her 81-year-old paternal grandpa after losing both her dad and gran.
After her father passed away in 2008, and then her gran in 2016, Shayleen decided to find Colin, who had been estranged from his ex-wife and son since 1977.
With the help of her husband James, mum-offive Shayleen spent four years using ancestor websites and Facebook groups in Bellshill trying to find a lead.
But it was after she ramped up her search in the early weeks of lockdown that Shayleen found information that led to a dramatic twist.
Shayleen discovered Colin had been living 30 miles away after he moved to Canada in the early 80s.
She thought she had traced him to a nearby hospice earlier this week, only to find he had died alone in March last year.
Shayleen, 31, said: “It’s so strange, to search for someone for so long just to find out they were living near to us the whole time.
“Then I felt robbed of that time my children and I could have had, and of any information he could have given about our lineage.”
Shayleen learned Colin once played in a band, was an alcoholic and believes he moved to Canada in the hope of being reunited with his ex-wife and son, who had moved there to start a new life.
She said: “There was no funeral but I know his body was taken to the cemetery, so we will visit.”
Shayleen also plans to find out if Colin had other surviving family members.
She added: “I don’t feel like this is the end.”