After being abducted as a six-year-old in 1951, Luis Armando Albino, a boy from Oakland, California, has been found alive over 70 years later. Albino, now in his late 70s, was located by his niece, Alida Alequin, who used an online DNA test, old photographs, and newspaper clippings to track him down.
Albino, a retired firefighter, Marine Corps veteran, and father, had been living on the East Coast. His discovery was made possible with assistance from law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, Oakland Police, and the Justice Department. In June, Albino reunited with his family in California, including his brother, Roger, who passed away last month after a cancer diagnosis.
Roger, who had long hoped to find his brother, was able to meet Albino before his death. The reunion was an emotional one, with the brothers sharing a heartfelt embrace and catching up after decades of separation. Alequin said that Roger “died happily” knowing his brother had been found.
Albino also learned that his mother, who passed away at the age of 92 in 2005, had never given up hope that he was alive.
The search for Albino began in 2020 when Alequin took a DNA test that matched her with her long-lost uncle. After some initial difficulty in contacting him, Alequin and her daughters dug deeper, eventually finding old photos and records that confirmed his identity.
Luis was taken in 1951 from a park in West Oakland by a woman who promised him candy. He was then raised by a couple on the East Coast. His exact residence remains undisclosed.
The Oakland Police credited Alequin’s determination in helping to solve the decades-old mystery of her uncle’s whereabouts.