US boy kidnapped from California in 1951 returns 70 years later

In June, Mr. Albino, now 79, was reunited with his emotional family members.

A man who was kidnapped as a six-year-old boy over 70 years ago has been found alive on the east coast of the United States. Luis Armando Albino disappeared from a park in West Oakland, California, on February 21, 1951. He was lured away by a woman who promised to buy him candy while he played with his 10-year-old brother Roger. For decades, his whereabouts remained a mystery until this year, when DNA testing and family efforts revealed the truth.

The Mercury News first reported the discovery, which came after Alida Alequin, Mr. Albino's niece, went looking for her uncle. Using DNA testing, newspaper clippings and help from Oakland police, the FBI and the Justice Department, the 63-year-old Oakland resident was able to track down her uncle. Luis Albino is now a retired firefighter and Marine Corps veteran who served two tours in Vietnam.

In June, Mr. Albino, now 79, was reunited with emotional family members, including his older brother Roger, who died of cancer last month at age 82. The brothers had a heartwarming reunion before Mr. Roger's death. Alida Alequin described the moment: “They held each other tight and hugged each other for a long, long time. They sat down and just talked.”

Ms. Alequin's search began in 2020 when she casually took a DNA test on the internet. The results showed a 22 percent match with Albino, prompting her to dig deeper into the family history. Along with her daughters, Ms. Alequin scoured newspaper archives and microfilm in local libraries and eventually found pictures of Luis Albino that confirmed her suspicions. Her determination was the key to solving the decades-old mystery.

Mr. Albino remembers parts of his abduction and journey to the East Coast, but said that those around him at the time refused to give answers. Today, he prefers to keep some of his experiences to himself.

Unfortunately, her mother did not live to see the solution to the mystery; she died in 2005 at the age of 92.

Ms Alequin described Roger's final days as peaceful, saying he “died happy” and “at peace knowing his brother had been found.”