Pain overshadowed the joy, however, when officials disclosed that Crystal Leann Anzaldi, now 8, was physically and emotionally abused by the woman who masqueraded as her mother.

Before the reunion, Dorothy and Jeffrey Anzaldi, who divorced after Crystal's disappearance, appeared in court yesterday for a hearing to authenticate blood tests showing they are her biological parents - a first step toward reclaiming the child.

While her parents were in court, Crystal met her big sister, 10-year-old Kendra, for the first time in seven years.

"We were told it was wonderful," said Jennifer Ramirez of Puerto Rico's Family Department.

"They played together all morning and painted together."

Ramirez said Crystal would likely be placed in the care of her father, who lives with his new wife and another daughter in Oregon. Her mother, who lives in Northern California, has agreed the father should get custody.

However, Puerto Rican authorities indicated her return to the United States could take weeks.

Ramirez said investigators would first conduct home studies of both parents before holding another hearing to grant final custody.

Ramirez said the woman who claimed to be Crystal's mother, Nilza Gierbolini Guzman, "admitted that she physically and emotionally abused the girl."

Gierbolini, 35, who lived in San Diego at the time of Crystal's disappearance, claims Crystal was left in her care by a man who told her the child's mother had died and never returned for her.

She faces trial next month on charges of falsifying a birth certificate for Crystal.

AP/ The Seattle times