A boy who was kidnapped over 70 years ago from a park in California has been found alive and healthy as an elderly man, reports NPR News. He was reunited with his family after his niece used DNA research to locate him, according to police. Luis Albino was just 6 years old when he was taken on February 2, 1951, from Jefferson Park Playground in Oakland
“by an unknown female who transported him out of state and eventually to the East Coast,”
police said in a statement.
Despite efforts to find him at the time, the search was unsuccessful, and the case remained unsolved for many years. Earlier this year, Albino’s niece visited the Oakland police and shared
“that her online DNA test results matched an individual believed to be her uncle,”
police said. Following this, FBI agents, at the request of the Oakland police, interviewed Albino at his home on the East Coast and collected a DNA sample. The results matched with two of his surviving siblings in California, confirming that Albino was indeed the boy who was kidnapped in 1951.
The FBI, California Department of Justice, and Oakland police worked together to arrange and cover the costs for Albino to reunite with his family on June 24 of this year.
“It was an emotional moment for all parties involved and was a family reunion over 70 years in the making,”
police said.
The Oakland Police Department did not specify who they think took Albino from the park all those years ago or who raised him. Reports did not specify whether Albino was aware of his abduction due to his young age at the time. Albino’s mother, who was 92, passed away in 2005 without ever knowing what happened to her kidnapped son, according to the Bay Area News Group.
This summer, Albino got to meet and spend time with his brother Roger, who was with him at the park on the day he was taken in 1951. Sadly, Roger passed away in August.
“I think he died happily,”
63-year-old niece Alida Alequin told the outlet.
#Clique, what are your thoughts?
