In 1951, Luis Armando Albino was abducted from a park in Oakland, California, at the age of 6, when he was lured away from his older brother by a woman promising to buy him candy.
Thanks to the efforts of his niece, 63-year-old Alida Alequin, Albino has been reunited with the family he lost.
"I grabbed my mom's hands and said, 'We found him.' I was ecstatic." said Alequin.
On Saturday, The Mercury News reported that Albino had finally been located by the family that lost him 73 years ago. The events leading up to this were set in motion by Alequin taking an online DNA test in 2020 "just for fun." She discovered a 22% DNA match between herself and a man she didn't know. He did not respond to her attempts to connect.
After a visit to Oakland Public Library in early 2024, Alequin located a photograph of Luis with his older brother Roger Albino within microfilm of Tribune articles.
Alequin reported her findings to Oakland police, who opened a new missing persons case. Law enforcement was able to locate Luis on the East Coast and procure a DNA sample from him, which was then compared with a sample procured from Alequin's mother.
On June 20, law enforcement confirmed that Luis was Alequin's long-lost uncle.
"I was always determined to find him, and who knows, with my story out there, it could help other families going through the same thing," Alequin said. "I would say, don't give up."
With the help of the FBI, Luis traveled to the West Coast to be reunited with his family in late June. He was then taken to Roger Albino's house to be reunited with his brother.
"They grabbed each other and had a really tight, long hug. They sat down and just talked," said Alequin, describing how the two men discussed the day of the kidnapping, their military service and more.
Alequin also stated that her uncle was unwilling to speak to the media.
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