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Merlene Brown, the woman who strongly believed that she had found her daughter, whom she had given away over 25 years ago, was left disappointed after a DNA result on Tuesday proved that she was not the mother.

Brown was in high spirits last month when she met Yanique Thomas, a 29-year-old who was looking for her birth mother.

Thomas said she was told that she was left with a woman at the Ward Theatre in downtown Kingston, more than two decades ago.

But Brown said she left her child with a woman at the Spanish Town Hospital.

Although the stories were different, Brown said she was convinced that she had found the adult version of the little girl she nicknamed 'Nunu Girl'.

"I really find it hard to believe that Yanique is not my child because she looks a lot like us. Mi really a wonder if dem swab ting deh real. She all walk like my son ... knock knees and everything. I really feel a connection with her and even though the test says she is not Nunu Girl, I will still keep in contact with her," Brown said.

Baby's paternity

Brown had earlier told THE STAR that she gave up the child because of questions over the baby's paternity. The woman she left the child with lived in Newlands in St Catherine, and although Brown claimed to have visited the woman's premises numerous times with the police to get her daughter, she had never laid eyes on the woman or child.

Thomas said that she was given a name by the then-named Child Development Agency (CDA), and, based on information gathered from the police, the agency estimated her birthdate.

She remained in state care until age 17, when she was adopted. Thomas said that even though her adoptive parents treated her well, she always yearned to find her birth parents.

Like Brown, she stated that she is disappointed that her search didn't end with yesterday's DNA result.

But she says she will continue her journey to find the woman who abandoned her little over 25 years ago.