The Oakland Police Department has officially solved the 70-year mystery of a missing 6-year-old boy in California.
The man in question, Luis Armando Albino, was abducted from a local park in West Oakland on Feb. 21, 1951. He was believed to be lured away by a woman, but police have been unable to find him. Until now.
“It was the best possible outcome the Oakland Police Department (OPD) could hope for, as this is what our officers are dedicated to and strive for in every Missing Persons case,” police wrote in a statement.
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While the case went unsolved for more than seven decades, local authorities never gave up on it and were delighted when Albino’s niece, Alida Alequin, contacted them with a potential breakthrough.
Alequin took an eye-opening online DNA test in 2020
In 2020, Alequin was looking for something to do when she decided to take an online DNA test. The test came back with a 22% match for someone believed to be her uncle, so she started doing some research.
The man, who was later identified as Albino, was living on the East Coast, but Alequin grew suspicious after her daughter found pictures of him. It didn’t take long for them to see his resemblance to the family.
“The resemblance was so strong; how much he looked like my other uncles,” she told KTVU. “And then another picture where he looked so much like my grandmother, that one gave me chills.”
Once Alequin contacted the OPD’s Missing Person’s Unit, things started to move along. Local authorities in California confirmed the man’s identity after comparing his DNA sample to that of Alequin’s mother and uncle.
“In my heart I knew it was him, and when I got the confirmation, I let out a big ‘YES!'” Alequin said, according to the Mercury News. “We didn’t start crying until after the investigators left.”
Albino was kidnapped in California and taken to the East Coast
According to old documents and newspaper articles, Albino was playing at a park with his brother, Roger, when Luis was abducted by a woman and never seen again.
The U.S. Coast Guard, local police officers, and soldiers from a local Army base launched a massive search operation in hopes of finding the 6-year-old boy, which included searching the San Francisco Bay.
While the kidnapping is still under investigation, police now know that the woman brought Albino to the East Coast shortly after the abduction. On June 20, Alequin got the news she had been hoping for.
Albino was, in fact, her uncle. He was a retired firefighter, a Marine Corps veteran, and a grandfather!
On June 24, Albino traveled to Oakland to reunite with his family after seven decades. He returned the following month for a three-week visit. His brother, Roger, passed away in August.
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Alequin had one last bit of advice for anyone out there going through something similar. “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,” she said. “I would say, don’t give up.”