“Just for fun,” a woman from the US took a DNA test – and made a surprising and especially pleasant discovery: a match in the database pointed to her uncle on the other side of the country – he had been missing for a while. 70 years.
In 1951, Luis Armando Albino, then 6, was abducted with candy from a California park where he had been playing with his brother. More than 70 years later, he has now been found thanks to an online ancestry test, old photos and newspaper clippings, the Bay Area News Group reported Friday.
Man lived a completely new life
The stumbling block was the initiative of the man’s niece, who tracked him down on the East Coast with the help of police, the FBI and the Justice Department. Albino, now a father and grandfather, is a retired firefighter and Marine Corps veteran who served in Vietnam, said his 63-year-old niece, Alida Alequin.
It turns out that the boy, born in Puerto Rico, was taken by a woman to the East Coast, where he ended up with a couple who raised him as their own. Albino remained missing for more than seventy years, but his mother, who died in 2005, never gave up hope that her son was still alive.
Cousin provides crucial clue
Oakland police confirmed that Alequin’s efforts “played an integral role in the search for her uncle.” In an interview with the news station, she said, “My uncle hugged me and said, ‘Thank you for finding me,’ and gave me a letter. He gave me a kiss on the cheek.”
She first had a hunch that her uncle might still be alive in 2020 when she took an online DNA test “just for fun,” Alequin said. It resulted in a 22 percent match with a man who ultimately turned out to be her uncle. However, further searching at the time yielded no answers or response from him, she said.
New lead was solid
Earlier this year, she and her daughters began searching again. During a visit to the Oakland Public Library, she viewed microfilm of Tribune articles, including one with a photo of Luis and Roger. This convinced her she was on the right track. She went to the Oakland police station that same day.
Investigators eventually agreed that the new lead was solid and opened a new missing persons case. Last week, Oakland police said the missing persons case was closed. However, the kidnapping investigation is not over for police and the FBI.
Family happily reunited
Luis was found on the East Coast and provided a DNA sample, as did his sister, Alequin’s mother. Finally, on June 20, the latest news came that her uncle had been found. “We didn’t start crying until after the investigators left,” Alequin said.
I grabbed my mother’s hands and said, ‘We found him.’ On June 24, Luis and members of his family came to Oakland, with the help of the FBI. He then returned to the East Coast, but came back to Oakland in July for a three-week visit.
It was also the last time he saw his brother Roger, who died in August. “I was always determined to find him, and maybe my story will help other families who are going through the same thing,” Alequin said. “I would say, don’t give up.”
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
