It’s definitely not an every day occurrence when you get a phone call from one your best friends telling you, “I’m on the cover of People magazine with Brad Pitt, Zac Efron, and Prince Harry…no big deal.” That’s the phone call I got yesterday from one of my best friends, Steve Carter, who’s currently on the cover of People magazine under the headline “Missing Boy ‘Found’ After 34 Years.”

While Steve always knew that he was adopted, in January of 2011 he discovered that he was a missing child by the name of Marx Panama Barnes. He was kidnapped by his own mother, put into an orphanage, and then adopted three years later by the family who would raise him.

Several details about his past which he found somewhat suspicious, including a birth certificate issued a year after his birth, prompted him to check the website missingkids.com, where he found a spitting image of himself via a composite drawing of what Marx Panama would look like at age 28. That led to even more research, finally revealing the incredible story of his past. His identity was officially confirmed with a DNA test last November.

Listen To Steve Carter Speak With Scott McKenzie And The Morning MIX

I’ve known Steve since childhood, as we grew up together in the small Philadelphia suburb of Medford Lakes, New Jersey, and he has always had an uncanny ability to be the person everyone wanted to hang around with. Steve is the type of person that can walk into a room full of strangers and within five minutes he’s everyone’s best friend—and will have them laughing until their stomach’s ache. It’s this ability to connect with anyone that makes me believe that Steve’s story, and courage to tell the story, will end up helping a lot of people.

I’m hopeful that Steve’s story is going to bring comfort and hope to the families and friends suffering with the painful days/months/years of dealing with a missing child case.

For the latest information on the plight of missing children, please visit the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.