A boy kidnapped at the age of 6 from an Oakland park in 1951 was found alive on the East Coast after more than 70 years.
On February 21, 1951, Luis Armando Albino was playing with his older brother Roger at Jefferson Square Park in West Oakland.
A woman wearing a red bandana came up to them and spoke to Luis in Spanish. She said she’d buy him candy, but instead, she took him away. The woman flew Luis across the country to the East Coast.
Luis’s disappearance sparked a massive search effort. The Oakland police, soldiers from a local army base, Coast Guard, and city employees combed the area extensively. They even searched San Francisco Bay and other nearby waters.
Investigators questioned Roger repeatedly, but he stuck to his story about the woman with the bandana taking Luis.
For over 70 years, Luis’s family didn’t know where he was, but he remained close to their hearts. They kept his photo displayed in their homes. His mother clung to the hope that he was alive until her death in 2005.
The breakthrough in this cold case came from an unexpected source: DNA testing. In 2020, Luis’s niece, Alida Alequin, took an online DNA test “just for fun”. The results revealed a 22% match with a man who could potentially be her uncle. Although this initial lead didn’t pan out, It sparked a hope that would eventually bear fruit.
In February 2024, Alequin and her daughters resumed their search. They went to the Oakland Public Library and looked at old newspaper articles on microfilm. They found a picture of Luis and Roger in one of the articles, which made Alequin sure she was on the right track. That same day, she reported what she’d found to the Oakland police.
The police found Alequin’s new information relevant and opened a new missing persons case. With help from the FBI, they located Luis on the East Coast. They conducted DNA tests on Luis and his sister (Alequin’s mom) and confirmed it was him.
On June 20, 2024, investigators delivered the incredible news to Alequin and her mother: Luis had been found. Alequin recounted the emotional moment: “We didn’t start crying until after the investigators left. I grabbed my mom’s hands and said, ‘We found him.’ I was ecstatic.”
On June 24, Luis traveled to Oakland with his family members to meet Alequin, her mother, and other relatives. The following day, Alequin drove her mother and newly found uncle to Roger’s home in Stanislaus County, California.
When the brothers saw each other, the reunion was very emotional. Alequin said, “They hugged each other tight for a long time. Then they sat down and just talked.” They talked about the day Luis was kidnapped, their time in the military, and what their lives had been like all these years.
Luis had lived a full life, even after what had happened to him as a child. The couple who took him raised him as their own son. Luis joined the Marines and fought in Vietnam. Later, he became a firefighter and worked until he retired. Now he’s a grandfather with his own family on the East Coast.
In July, Luis came back to California for three weeks. He spent time with the family he hadn’t known for so long. Sadly, that was the last time he saw Roger, who died in August.
There are still many questions about what happened. The woman who took Luis has died, so we may never know everything. The police have closed the missing persons case, but they and the FBI are still looking into the kidnapping.
Luis now lives under a different name and wants to keep his privacy. He has declined to speak with the media. His niece respects what he wants but hopes their story might help other families in similar situations.
Alequin said, “I always knew I would find him. Maybe our story can help other families going through the same thing. I want to tell them: don’t give up.”
God works in ways we don’t always understand. His timing might not be what we expect, but His plans are perfect. This reunion, 70 years in the making shows how our prayers can be answered in surprising ways.
Let’s pray for families with missing loved ones, asking God to comfort them, give them strength, and, if it’s His will, bring them back together.
WATCH: Boy Abducted at Age 6 Found Alive After 70 Years
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