Letter from orphanage that could help an Indonesian boy Setio Shanahan find his biological family

Setio Shanahan was just two years old when he was adopted from an Indonesian orphanage by an Australian couple.

Now married and living in South Australia’s Mount Gambier, the 38-year-old is desperate to find his biological family after being abandoned as a toddler.

He believes a collection of photographs and an open letter from an orphanage worker in Surabaya, the port city he was born in, could help him find them. 

‘I wanted to know what my orphanage looked like and why I was given up for adoption,’ he told Today Tonight as he prepared to fly back to his birth country. 

‘There was part of me believing I needed to go back to that place.’ 

Setio Shanahan (left, with wife in Australia) was adopted from Indonesia when he was two

He was adopted by an Australian couple, Brian and Jan, who brought him to Mount Gambier

He was adopted by an Australian couple, Brian and Jan, who brought him to Mount Gambier

Mr Shanahan said he felt inspired to reach out to his Indonesian family after stumbling upon a letter from a field officer who helped his parents adopt him.  

The letter said his biological parents didn’t want to keep in touch. 

‘I took photos of Setio’s older ‘sisters’ but when I offered a question as to whether they were “natural full sisters” or “sisters who were related and close” they elected for the second title. It might be a bit sensitive to be too querulous so I left it at that,’ the letter read.

Inspired by the letter, Mr Shanahan uploaded four old photographs he believed were of some of his family members to Instagram, asking: ‘Do you know my family?’ 

To his surprise, an Indonesian woman messaged him shortly after asking who he was and why he had a photograph of her mother.  

‘I was overwhelmed with a little bit of excitement, and a little bit of wow, she goes you’ve got the family forehead,’ Mr Shanahan told Today Tonight.   

Mr Shanahan said he felt inspired to reach out to his Indonesian family after stumbling upon a letter (pictured) from a field officer who helped his parents adopt him

Mr Shanahan said he felt inspired to reach out to his Indonesian family after stumbling upon a letter (pictured) from a field officer who helped his parents adopt him 

The letter said his biological parents didn't want to keep in touch

The letter said his biological parents didn’t want to keep in touch 

He soon discovered the mother in the photograph, known only as Bertha, had raised him as her own in a busy household with other children.

But when he turned two, Bertha gave him up for adoption. 

He believes a young unmarried woman gave birth to him after sleeping with another man living in the house with Bertha.

Bertha died of cancer seven years ago, squashing any hopes of asking her why she decided to give him up for adoption.  

The woman pictured is Bertha who was Mr Shanahan's legal mother till the age of two

Another photo Mr Shanahan found with the letter

He posted four old photographs to Instagram asking if anyone knew his family in Indonesia

A young woman reached out to Mr Shanahan asking why he had a photo of her mother

A young woman reached out to Mr Shanahan asking why he had a photo of her mother 

Last weekend, he travelled to Surabaya in hopes of finding out more about his family. 

He found out that in Bertha’s house he was looked after by a sister named Lani, while Bertha ran six businesses and underwent treatment for a tumour. 

He said he expected to meet Lani soon and thank her for loving him and looking after him as a baby.   

Last night, after his story was aired on Today Tonight Adelaide, Mr Shanahan revealed on Facebook that he watched it with two older sisters and his nephew. 

‘I received the answers I had been looking for…The worst out of three scenarios,’ he wrote on Facebook. 

‘They said it was a miracle I returned and I filmed the full disclosure of the truth.

‘Thank you to all my friends who had wished me well.

‘The answer I will hold off for a bit because it is very sad.’  

Pictured here with his adopted mother, Mr Shanahan is desperate to find his biological parents

Pictured here with his adopted mother, Mr Shanahan is desperate to find his biological parents

'I received the answers I had been looking for...The worst out of three scenarios,' he wrote on Facebook

‘I received the answers I had been looking for…The worst out of three scenarios,’ he wrote on Facebook

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