A 6-year-old boy who was kidnapped from California in the year 1951 while playing in a park has been found alive and safe after 70 years on the East Coast. The online ancestry test, old photos and newspaper clippings helped him to reunite with his family.
Luis Armando Albino was located by his niece, Alida Alequin, with help from the FBI, Justice Department, and Oakland police. Albino is now a father, grandfather and retired firefighter. On Friday, a local news channel reported that he had been living on the East Coast.
Alequin shared her relief and hope for other families in similar situations. “I was always determined to find him,” she said. “Who knows, with my story out there, it could help other families going through the same thing. I would say, don’t give up.” However, Albino has not spoken to the media about this.
Albino disappeared on February 21, 1951, when a woman kidnapped him from a West Oakland park by luring him to give him candy. She abducted him and took him to the East Coast, where a couple raised him as their own son. His family, however, never stopped searching for him, with his photo hanging in their homes. Albino’s mother, who passed away in 2005, always believed he was alive.
Neece Alequin found her uncle began with an online DNA test she took in 2020. The test revealed a 22 per cent match with a man who turned out to be her uncle. Though initial efforts didn’t yield any contact, her persistence paid off in 2024 when she searched through old Oakland Tribune articles and discovered a picture of Luis and his brother, Roger, which convinced her she was on the right track. She immediately approached Oakland police with the lead.
Soon after, a missing persons case was reopened, and through DNA testing, Albino was confirmed to be alive. In June 2024, investigators informed Alequin and her mother that Albino had been found. Albino travelled to Oakland on June 24, where he reunited with his family. He also visited his brother Roger in Stanislaus County, California.