California: Luis Armando Albino was just 6 years old in 1951 when he was kidnapped while playing in a neighborhood in Oakland, California. Now, more than seventy years later, he has been located thanks to an online ancestry test, old photographs and newspaper clippings.
California man alive
Albino’s niece, Alida Alequin, who lives in Oakland, played a key role in the search, working alongside police, the FBI and the Justice Department to find her uncle on the East Coast. Albino, now a father, grandfather and retired firefighter, is also a Marine Corps veteran who served in Vietnam. Alequin managed to reunite him with his family in California in June.
Kidnapped in California in 1951
On February 21, 1951, a woman lured young Albino out of the park with the promise of candy and speaking to him in Spanish. Instead of keeping her promise, she kidnapped him and took him to the East Coast, where a couple raised him as their own son. Details of their East Coast residence remain unrevealed.
For more than 70 years, Albino was missing, but his family loved him and kept him in their memory. His photo is displayed prominently in their homes. His mother, who passed away in 2005, never gave up hope that he was alive.
A man who died 70 years later is found
Oakland police acknowledged Alequin’s important contribution to locating his uncle, and stressed that this is the outcome they seek in their work. In an interview, he shared a touching moment: “He hugged me and said, ‘Thank you for finding me,’ and gave me a kiss on the cheek.”
Early reports from the time described a large search operation involving local police, soldiers and the Coast Guard, who scoured San Francisco Bay and surrounding areas. Albino’s brother Roger was questioned several times, but always recounted the incident of the woman with the headscarf who kidnapped Luis.
DNA test reveals the truth
The first hint that his uncle might still be alive came in 2020, when Alequin took an online DNA test for fun. The results revealed a 22 percent match with a man who turned out to be his uncle. Despite his efforts at the time, he received no further leads.
In early 2024, motivated by the earlier discovery, Alequin and her daughters resumed their search. During a visit to the Oakland Public Library, she reviewed microfilms of old Tribune articles, including one with a photo of Luis and Roger, which fueled her determination. She immediately approached Oakland police with her findings.
Luis returned to the East Coast, but visited again in July for a three-week stay, which would be the last time he would see Roger, who sadly passed away in August. Alequin mentioned that his uncle preferred to keep his story private and did not wish to speak to the media.
With AP inputs
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