A six-year-old boy who was abducted from a California park in 1951 has been reunited with his family after more than seven decades, thanks to an online DNA test and a determined search by his niece.
Luis Armando Albino, who was taken while playing with his older brother in a West Oakland park, was found living on the East Coast. His niece, Alida Alequin, 63, discovered his whereabouts after taking a DNA test “just for fun” and initiating a search with the help of police, the FBI, and the Department of Justice.
Albino, now a father and grandfather, is a retired firefighter and Marine Corps veteran who served in Vietnam. After being kidnapped, he was raised by a couple on the East Coast as their own child. For over 70 years, his family in California held onto hope that he was alive, even displaying his photo in their homes.
The breakthrough came in 2020 when Alequin’s DNA test revealed a 22% match with a man who turned out to be her missing uncle. Though initial attempts to contact him were unsuccessful, Alequin and her daughters resumed their search earlier this year. They combed through old newspaper articles and visited the Oakland Public Library, where a photo of the missing brothers confirmed their suspicion.
Oakland police reopened the missing persons case, and in June, they confirmed Albino’s identity through DNA samples provided by him and his sister, Alequin’s mother. On June 24, Albino traveled to Oakland and reunited with his family, including his brother Roger, who he hadn’t seen since the day of the abduction. The reunion was emotional, with the brothers sharing memories of their childhood and military service.
Albino returned to the East Coast but visited again in July for a three-week stay, reuniting with family for the last time before Roger’s passing in August.
Alequin hopes that sharing her story will inspire other families in similar situations to persist in their search for missing loved ones. “I was always determined to find him,” she said. “Don’t give up.”
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