Foster parents to appear on 'Oprah'

Clement and Mary Radcliff show off a photo of their reunion with Tamisha, which gained them an appearance on 'Oprah.'

By Shelley Smith

ssmith@salisburypost.com

In 2009, Spencer residents Clement and Mary Radcliff found their foster daughter, Tamisha, after an agonizing 25 years apart.

The family was reunited through We Television's "The Locator," a show that attempts to reconnect loved ones after years of separation.

The Radcliffs' story, as well as the success of "The Locator," has won over Oprah Winfrey, and the Radcliffs will meet with Tamisha and Troy Dunn, host of "The Locator," to share their success story on national television once again.

The Radcliffs said a dream of theirs was to share their story on "Oprah," and a lot of luck propelled them to Chicago to live out that dream.

Clement said he and Mary received a call from "The Locator," last Thursday, checking in to see how things were going since the reunion.

Two days later the co-producer of "The Locator" called, not knowing of a phone call days before.

"She told us somebody would be calling from Harpo Productions soon," Clement said, stating that he and Mary couldn't believe it. "They said they were pretty sure this (Oprah appearance) was going to happen," he said.

Harpo called Monday morning, and the Radcliffs and their two daughters were in the air Tuesday night headed for Chicago.

Last Wednesday, the Radcliffs had a free day, spending time with Tamisha and her adoptive mother.

"Everything happened so fast," Clement said. "We taped Thursday and flew back to North Carolina that night. All of this really happened in a span of three days."

The Radcliffs story will be featured Thursday as one of three segments.

"It's basically going to be about 'The Locator,' " and what coming together meant to all of the family, Clement said. The Radcliffs said meeting Oprah was an unbelievable experience. "She's very down to earth, very caring and very gracious," Clement said.

Clement said that since the reconnection with Tamisha last Spring, and her visiting Spencer and attending the Radcliffs' family reunion in July, last week was the first time they had seen her in more than six months.

"It was great," Clement said. "And Oprah had her tissues out, too."

The show will air Thursday at 4 p.m. on WSOC-TV, channel 9, and 9 p.m. on WAXN.