For months, Lori Haas had searched the World Wide Web for any sign of the son she'd given up for adoption 20 years ago when she stumbled on a new tool — Facebook.

Because it was a closed adoption, the 37-year-old Vancouver nurse only got access to her son's name when he turned 19 last summer.

Lori Haas and Travis Sheppard, in her Facebook profile photo.
(CBC)

Haas began her online hunt for her son, typing his name — Travis Sheppard — into the Google search engine and online phone books.

Then, in May, she joined Facebook, the social networking site of more than 30 million that's known for connecting far-flung friends.

When she typed her son's name into the site's search engine, a number of profiles popped up.

"When I saw his picture, I just knew," Haas told CBC News.

But she hesitated. The website's profile pictures are a small, about two centimetres wide, and another person was featured in the photo.

A week later, he changed his photo to one of him by himself.

"It was undescribable. It was late at night when I looked at it. I couldn't sleep. My heart was pounding," she said. "It was like a familiarity and it was awesome."

Meanwhile, Travis had begun to hunt for his birth mom, and left Winnipeg to track her down in Vancouver.

On July 2, he received an e-mail through Facebook from Haas.

"When I first read message, I wasn't sure who it was who sent me the message. As soon as I clicked on her profile, though I knew without a doubt it was her," Sheppard said.

A day later, they met at a local restaurant and have been in contact ever since.

In fact, both their Facebook profile pictures feature shots of the two side-by-side.

"I am so complete," said Haas. "Right now, it's just so comfortable between the two of us. I just can't wait to keep learning more about him."