Social Media and DNA Results Unveil Surprising Discovery in Seeking an Estranged Father in Thailand

LOS ANGELES - June 24, 2015 - PRLog -- Tricia Maxx recently announced the making of the film, “Seeking Kun Por”, and the launch of a fundraising campaign for its production and release. Kun Por means “father” in Thai and the documentary follows Maxx through her quest to seek her biological father. The documentary is about a young Asian woman’s journey through Thailand to be united with her biological father, after being abandoned forty-two years ago. With the help of Ancestory.com (http://www.ancestry.com/) and Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/), several surprises were unveiled that answered some important questions, but also revealed further information that she didn’t know she was even seeking. During pre-production, these discoveries led her to be united with a cousin that she had never previously known.  She also learned of an additional blood line and heritage which opened a new door to her journey.

After realizing that there was more to her story than she even knew, Maxx soon discovered that she was part of many secrets that haunted her future. Speculation of her lineage began to weigh heavily upon her.  To satisfy her curiosity, she took a DNA test on Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com/).  Though the results revealed the Southeast Asian lineage that she had expected, in a surprising twist, she discovered a Russia Far East and New Guinea bloodline.  Though the test brought closure to one part of her life, it opened a new door. She discovered that her DNA was a match to a women living in Las Vegas, her first cousin who was also using the site to trace her own family tree with of finding her biological father.  After utilizing Facebook to perform a last name search using Maxx’s mother’s surname, Phongsanoh, within as little as two weeks, the two were able to locate Sanit Phongsanoh, her cousin’s father and Maxx’s uncle, in Thailand.

The outcome of her cousin finding her biological father with little to no information caused Maxx to rethink her own search. It also aided in her personal search for the truth of her heritage. The news of her search made its way back to Tricia’s mother.  As a result, her mother finally gave the name of her biological father, limited details of his family, and his last known whereabouts on Mother’s Day 2015. Armed with this new information, Maxx has enlisted the help of Gene Ponce, a former DOD and military intelligence officer, to assist with the search. Maxx connected with Ponce through a distant cousin on Ancestry.com. Ponce worked at U.S. air bases in Thailand during the War. Upon retiring, he found himself helping others in reconnecting ties that were cut decades earlier. After a successful career in the U.S. military as a former Military Intelligence Officer and GI, Gene Ponce (http://articles.latimes.com/2003/dec/14/news/adfg-lost14)has reunited many Thai children left behind after the Vietnam War with their American parents, through his organization, Thai-American Research Group (http://amer-thai2001.tripod.com/gspresearch/). With his vast knowledge of the area around Ban Chang and through his detailed archive of records, Ponce possess information that may lead her closer to finding her father. He is currently working on approximately 50 cases, most at the request of Thais looking for their lost fathers. Most cases revolve around the search to find American parentage. In this case, Ponce will be investigating in reverse, seeking a biological father in Thailand.

Today, Tricia’s biological father’s age would be 71 years old.  The life expectance of a male in Thailand is 75.5 years old. Time is running out for her to find him.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​��​​​​​​​​​​ To be a part of this documentary by bring this epic journey to the screen visit, http://igg.me/at/kunporto learn more and/or contribute.

About the Documentary

The special documentary explores the inspiring, dramatic and unexpected life events of Tricia Maxx, who was abandoned by her mother as an infant to a poor family of farmers living in the rural section of East Tennessee. After surviving a life of betrayal and being deprived from having a relationship with her biological father, or even knowing relatives from her native country of Thailand, Maxx now is about to embark on an incredible journey determined to find answers and the truth.  The main objective of the documentary is to chronicle the journey as Maxx is reunited with her biological father while she searches for the truth about the origins about her life and genealogy. The documentary also serves to inspire others who may be adopted or are seeking their own ancestry truths. “Seeking Kun Por” (http://www.seekingkunpor.com/), self-directed by Tricia Maxx, is a human story that touches on everything, with focuses on overcoming diversity and obstacles in life such as sexual abuse, racism, feelings of isolation and homelessness. The documentary tells a compelling story of hope, perseverance and finding truth through adversity. In this documentary, viewers will see Maxx’s transformation from being a victim to being a survivor. She felt the impact of discrimination and racism within a community where she was struggling to understand her identity being the only Asian in a southern Caucasian family. She had spent most of her life in an abusive and dysfunctional environment, living with her grandmother consisting of perpetual degradation and unspeakable acts that went on behind closed doors. Eventually, Maxx began to realize that there was more to her story, than she even knew; soon discovering she was part of many secrets from her past that haunted her future. The movie reveals struggles of drugs, alcohol and homelessness, which ultimately ignited a fire within her to fight and to survive so that she one day might know the truth of her existence.

Media Contact:

Terese Karpoich

C/o Tricia Maxx

Email: skpadopted@gmail.com (mailto:maxx12productions@gmail.com)

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To learn more about “Seeking Kun Por”, visit: http://www.findherfather.comANDhttp://www.seekingkunpor.com/

Contribute to the Indiegogo Fundraising Campaign: http://igg.me/at/kunpor

“Life Story in 60 Seconds” video: https://vimeo.com/128838301



To learn more about Gene Ponce and the Thai-American Research Group, visit: http://amer-thai2001.tripod.com/gspresearch/

To learn more about “Dinners on Maxx”, visit: http://www.dinnersonmaxx.org/

To learn more about Craig Roberts, visit: http://www.dinnersonmaxx.org/craig-roberts-bio.html