A BOY who was abducted from a park at just six years old has been found after a shocking 73 years.
Luis Armando Albino, now aged 79, is now safe and well thanks to his hard-nosed niece who never gave up trying to find him.
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On February 21, 1951, Luis was kidnapped by a lady from a West Oakland park, in California, where he was playing with his ten-year-old older brother, Roger.
The woman tricked him into thinking she would buy him candy in order to get his attention and entice him away.
After that, little Luis was transported by air to the East Coast, where he was brought up as a son by a couple in New York City.
Luis’s mother never gave up on the possibility that he would one day return, safe and sound.
She sadly died in 2005 at the age of 92 without ever finding out what had become of her beloved son.
Only early this year, a curious and diligent niece of Luis’s used DNA testing and information from newspaper clippings in her quest for the truth, leading to a breakthrough in the case.
Alida Alequin, 63, had stayed in Oakland and was determined to locate her long-lost uncle.
With assistance from the Department of Justice, the FBI, and local police, she was able to piece together the evidence.
Her actions “played an integral role in finding her uncle,” according to Oakland police.
Luis seemed to have had a busy life after being taken away from his family.
He had been a firefighter and had served two tours of duty in Vietnam with the Marine Corps.
He had also become a dad and a grandfather himself.
And now, for the first time in over seven decades, brothers Luis and Roger, now 83, were able to reunite thanks to Alida’s efforts.
She told Mercury News how her uncle kissed her on the cheek, “hugged me, and said, ‘Thank you for finding me.'”
The reunion sadly had a bittersweet tone as Roger didn’t have much time left to live after receiving a cancer diagnosis.
“They grabbed each other and had a really tight, long hug. They sat down and just talked,” Alida remarked.
The two discussed their past experiences, including their time in the military and the events leading up to the abduction.
In July, Luis had one final encounter with his brother before Roger passed away a month later in August.
“I think he died happily. He was at peace with himself, knowing that his brother was found,” Alida said.
“I was just so happy I was able to do this for him and bring him closure and peace.”
The niece believes that her grandma, Luis’ mother, would have been “very happy, most definitely. She never forgot him.
“She always said he was still alive. She had hope she would see him. She never gave up that hope.”
Alida continued: “I’m so happy that I was able to do this for my mom and (uncle). It was a very happy ending.
“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.
“I would say, don’t give up.”
Although Luis hasn’t talked to the media yet, he does remember some details of his captivity.
Those in his immediate vicinity in New York would not respond to enquiries about the circumstances of his kidnapping, and he was never informed of what was happening.
And the people he thought were his parents have now passed away.
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THE RELENTLESS SEARCH
One of five siblings, Luis had been playing at what was once called West Oakland’s Jefferson Square Park.
Police, together with Coast Guard personnel and army soldiers, combed the region and San Francisco Bay after his kidnapping.
Roger, his brother, was questioned multiple times and insisted that his brother had been abducted by a woman wearing a bandana around her head.
In an attempt to aid, the FBI was also brought in, but the case went cold and filed.
Luis’ mom would frequently check in with the police missing person bureau for updates.
At first, she would go every day, then every week, then every month, and finally, once a year.
I was just so happy I was able to do this for him and bring him closure and peace
Alida Alequin
But it appeared that the authorities were no closer to discovering the truth.
Alida said: “She always felt he was alive. She took that with her to her grave.
“All this time the family kept thinking of him. I always knew I had an uncle. We spoke of him a lot.
“My grandmother carried the original article in her wallet, and she always talked about him. A picture of him was always hung at the family home.”
Alida was the one who kick-started the search for her missing uncle when she did an online DNA test for fun in 2020.
Luis, who she was unaware of, was a 22 percent match, according to the results.
She reached out to him but never heard back.
Only later in the year did Alida’s own daughters start looking into the issue further and searching for Luis’s name online.
A microfilm of his pictures found at the Oakland Public Library reassured them that the man they were seeing was, in fact, their long-lost uncle.
Once again, the FBI and state Department of Justice were engaged in a new missing persons case.
It was discovered that Luis was residing on the East Coast, and he even submitted a DNA sample to verify his identity.
To confirm that Luis had been found, investigators visited Alida’s mother’s house (Luis and Roger’s sister).
“In my heart I knew it was him and when I got the confirmation, I let out a big ‘YES!’,” the niece said.
“We didn’t start crying until after the investigators left.
“I grabbed my mom’s hands and said, ‘We found him.’ I was ecstatic.”
The FBI says that the kidnapping is still under investigation even if the missing person case has been closed.
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