Luis Albino, who was kidnapped from a California park over seven decades ago, has been found alive and well as a senior citizen, and was recently reunited with surviving family members, police announced on Monday. His discovery was made possible through DNA research conducted by his niece.
Albino was just 6 years old when he was abducted from Jefferson Park Playground in Oakland on February 2, 1951, by an unknown woman who took him out of state and eventually to the East Coast, according to a police statement. Despite immediate search efforts, the case went cold for more than 70 years.
Earlier this year, Albino's niece, Alida Alequin, contacted Oakland police after her online DNA test revealed a match to a man she believed was her long-lost uncle. Following her discovery, FBI agents interviewed Albino at his East Coast home and collected a DNA sample. The results confirmed he was a genetic match to two surviving siblings in California, confirming his identity as the boy who had been kidnapped in 1951.
Authorities from the FBI, the California Justice Department, and Oakland police coordinated a reunion, bringing Albino back to California to meet his family on June 24. "It was an emotional moment for all involved, a family reunion more than 70 years in the making," police said.
It remains unclear who abducted Albino or who raised him after the kidnapping, as the investigation is ongoing, and authorities have not yet released further details.
While the reunion brought some closure, it was also bittersweet. Albino's mother, who was 92 when she passed away in 2005, never learned the fate of her son. Albino was, however, able to reconnect with his brother, Roger, who was with him at the park on the day of the abduction. The brothers spent time together before Roger passed away last month.
Alequin, the niece who uncovered the DNA match, said of Roger's passing, “I think he died happily. He was at peace knowing his brother had been found. I’m just so glad I could bring him that closure and peace before he left us.”