She searched for him for nearly 36 years,[1] until, on 5 August 2014, after a DNA check voluntarily made by the person concerned, her grandson was identified, and became the 114th in the list of recovered grandchildren.

[6] In the 1970s, when the self-appointed civil-military dictatorship National Reorganization Process ruled the country (1976-1983), three of her children were involved in politics: Laura Estela, a student of history at the National University of La Plata, was a Peronist militant, Claudia belonged to the Peronist University Youth and Guido Miguel integrated the student center of his high school.

[10][11] But from the restoration of the true identity of her child, there are strong suspicions that the baby could have been born in the vicinity of La Cacha or in a hospital in the province of Buenos Aires.

[12] Carlotto made arrangements for her daughter's freedom, and came to meet with the general Reynaldo Bignone, who told her that Laura would not stay alive.

[15] Retired from her post as principal since 30 August 1978, Mrs. Carlotto became a member of the Abuelas Argentinas con Nietitos Desaparecidos (Argentine Grandmothers with Missing Grandchildren) by April 1979.

[16] Her search for information led her to São Paulo, Brazil, in 1980, where women whose children and/or grandchildren had met similar fates had organized CLAMOR, a group dedicated to raising public awareness of ongoing abuses.

While in São Paulo, she was told by a La Cacha prison survivor of a woman known as "Rita" whose father owned a paint store, had had a baby boy, and was released with "Carlos" on 24 August 1978.

[22] Filmmaker Nicolás Gil Lavedra began production on a biographical film, Estela, in 2011, starring Susú Pecoraro as the renowned activist.