Man thinks he found long lost father, then paternity test comes back negative

GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- A letter brought two men together, but three letters, DNA, nearly pulled them apart.

Tony Trapani, 81, and Samuel Childress, 61, thought they were a long lost father and son until a paternity test proved them wrong, WXMI-TV reports.

It all began when Samuel Childress, 61, found a letter that his mother sent to former boyfriend, Tony Trapani, 56 years ago.

"I have a little boy. He is five-years-old now," the letter reads. "What I'm trying to say Tony is he is your son. He was born November 13th, 1953?"

Childress contacted the now 81-year-old Trapani last month. After meeting for hours, both agreed to DNA tests.

Childress got a big surprise Monday when he got the results in the mail. They showed a zero percent chance that Trapani is his father.

"It's kind of shocked me a little bit," said Childress. "Instead of being 99 percent, it was zero and it kind of set me back. I mean, it's just like a shock to me."

Despite the test results, the father-son bond had been set when they got together last month. Both believed they were father and son, and both now say a DNA test won't change that.

Childress says he will not try to find his real father. As far as he is concerned, Trapani will be the only man he calls dad.

"I call him everyday," said Childress. "He said it doesn't matter what the test says, I know you are my son."