For six heartbreaking years, a father lived without knowing when he would see his little girl again.

Kayla Unbehaun was just nine years old when she disappeared in July 2017.

What began as an ordinary holiday weekend turned into a nightmare that would leave her family searching for answers for years.

Kayla had been spending time with her mother, Heather Unbehaun, who reportedly told the girl’s custodial father that they were going camping.

But when the time came for Kayla to return home, she never appeared.

As days turned into months and then years, the search continued.

Her father waited, hoping someone somewhere would recognize his daughter.

Eventually, Kayla’s disappearance was featured in connection with Netflix’s Unsolved Mysteries, bringing her story to a wider audience.

Then, in May 2023, something extraordinary happened.

A stranger in North Carolina noticed a young girl who looked familiar.

That person remembered a missing-child story from television — and one phone call would help end six years of uncertainty.

Continue below in Part 2