Kyle Adler, who was born Marcos Antonio Navarrete in Chile, discovered his true identity after being adopted as a baby under Pinochet’s regime.
DENVER — A Denver man spent most of his life not knowing his real name — or his real mother.
Kyle Adler, who was taken from his family in Chile at just 9 months old, reunited with his birth mother in February 2026 after years of searching, finally finding answers to questions that had followed him his entire life.
Adler was born Marcos Antonio Navarrete in Chile before being sold and illegally adopted by an American family who raised him in Chicago.
“I was born Marcos Antonio Navarrete, and then 9 months old, I was turned into Kyle Adler,” he told 9NEWS.
According to Adler, a priest came into the daycare where his mother had dropped him off and told the staff an American family was looking to take an underprivileged child. Adler said the caregiver was bribed, and Adler’s adoptive parents were told he was the child of a homeless woman.
“This woman sold me, and then I was later adopted, and again, my mom thought I was dead for 35 years,” Adler said.
Adler said that with no police report ever filed, there was no official record of a crime. His adoptive parents, who passed away in 2022, raised him with love and even helped him celebrate his Chilean culture, unaware of the full circumstances of his adoption.
Adler was one of thousands of children stolen from Chilean families during the 17-year dictatorship of Gen. Augusto Pinochet.
When Adler learned as an adult that he had been stolen — not simply adopted — the revelation sent him into a tailspin.
“I went through an identity crisis,” he said.
He began searching for his birth mother in 2016.
“In that crux of my life, I turned to like, man, I have a mother out there that I know nothing about. So I was like, ‘Why not?'” Adler said.
After years of searching and with the help of several organizations, Adler finally found her. He traveled to Chile in February 2026 to meet his birth mother for the first time.
“On the plane ride to the airport, I just cried,” he said. “It was one of those things where I didn’t know what to feel.”
The reunion was emotional. Adler said his mother greeted him through sobs of apology.
“She felt she had failed me as a mom, and she had done the opposite,” Adler said. “She had fought for me. She had never stopped looking for me.”
The experience gave Adler a new perspective on life and the people around him.
“Everyone is struggling, so it just gave me the opportunity to realize — don’t judge a book by its cover,” he said.
Today, Adler said, he is learning Spanish and scheduling regular trips to Chile to visit his mother. He hopes to one day open a weightlifting gym there.
“Now, I’m at a point where it’s like everything has come to fruition, where I can breathe a little bit. I met my mom. I met my family,” he said.