TODAY   |  January 27, 2013

Twin sisters reunited after 70 years apart

Sandi Kenn and her sister Etta spent only 9 months together - in their mother’s womb. After investigating their family’s history they reunited 70 years later, and realized they grew up only a few miles away from each other. NBC’s Kerry Sanders reports.

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>>> turning now to a reunion that was decades in the making. twin sisters that spent nearly 70 years knowing the other existed. as kerry sanders reports, their bond is undeniable.

>> reporter: this is a story about finding something you didn't know you loss the.

>> all my life, i had this feeling that something was missing. i didn't know it was somebody.

>> that somebody was sandy ei kechlt nchl. sandy and etta stevens had once spent time together, nine months, twin sisters separated at birth.

>> my twin sister .

>> it is so funny to say it.

>> yeah. it is still very strange to say it.

>> this was our mom's house.

>> born in chicago to an unwed mother whose own mother, an italian immigrant, forced her to give up her twins. etta and sandy were adopted by two different families.

>> we were raised in jewish families. we had the same kind of growing up. she loved her adopted parents, as i did.

>> i could have met my twin and maybe we didn't get along but we do.

>> we do. we do.

>> fraternal twins, which is why they don't look-alike.

>> delightful to hold in heaven. i think we love to sing.

>> they like the same makeup, even the same color. etta innocently wondered about her family's medical history just as illinois opened long- sealed birth records . that's when this birth certificate surfaced and right there, a huge surprise. when sandy eventually saw it, she was confused. i looked at it. i didn't quite understand it. twin. how could i be a twin and not know it? this can't be. they grew up only miles apart in chicago. sandy's family owned a music store .

>> we walked to their store. she sometimes worked in the store. so it was a wonderful place to be. maybe we saw each other. maybe we did.

>> as happens with twins, etta and sandy agree on just about anything, including they don't want anybody to know their age. we do know who was older.

>> she was born first. she is four minutes older than me.

>> it's okay. i'm proud of it.

>> separated at birth.

>> love you.

>> i love you too.

>> now making up for lost time . for today, kerry sanders , nbc news, miami.