Kyle Adler was born Marcos Antonio Navarrete in Chile and discovered his true identity after being adopted under the Pinochet regime.
DENVER — A Denver man spent most of his life not knowing his real name or his biological mother.
Kyle Adler, who was taken from his family in Chile when he was just 9 months old, was reunited with his birth mother in February 2026 after years of searching, finally finding answers to questions that had followed him throughout his life.
Adler was born Marcos Antonio Navarrete in Chile and was later sold and illegally adopted by an American family who raised him in Chicago.
“I was born Marcos Antonio Navarrete and when I was 9 months old, I became Kyle Adler,” he told Nine News.
According to Adler, a priest walked into the day care center where his mother sent him and told staff that an American family was looking for an impoverished child. Adler said caregivers were bribed and Adler’s adoptive parents were told he was the child of a homeless woman.
“This woman sold me, and I was adopted, and my mother thought I was dead for 35 years,” Adler said.
Adler said there was no official criminal record because no police report was filed. His adoptive parents, who passed away in 2022, raised him with love and even helped him celebrate his Chilean culture, but they didn’t know the full circumstances of his adoption.
Adler was one of thousands of children abducted from Chilean families during General Augusto Pinochet’s 17-year dictatorship.
When Adler learns as an adult that he was stolen—not just adopted—the news sends him into a tailspin.
“I went through an identity crisis,” he said.
In 2016, he began searching for his biological mother.
“At a critical point in my life, I started thinking, Oh my gosh, I have a mother that I know nothing about. So I thought, ‘Why not?'” Adler said.
After years of searching and with the help of multiple organizations, Adler finally found her. In February 2026, he traveled to Chile to meet his biological mother for the first time.
“On the plane to the airport, I cried,” he said. “It’s one of those things that I don’t know how to feel about.”
The reunion was exciting. Adler said his mother greeted him with tears and apologies.
“She felt like she was failing me as a mother, but she did the opposite,” Adler said. “She fought for me. She never stopped looking for me.”
This experience gave Adler a new perspective on life and the people around him.
“Everyone is struggling, so it gave me an opportunity to realize — don’t judge a book by its cover,” he said.
Today, Adler said, he is learning Spanish and plans to travel to Chile regularly to visit his mother. He hopes to one day open a weightlifting gym there.
“Now, I’m at the point where everything has come true and I can take a breath. I see my mom. I see my family,” he said.
