In 1951, six-year-old Luis Armando Albino was abducted while playing in a park in Oakland, California. Now, more than 70 years later, Albino has been reunited with his family, thanks to an online ancestry test, old photos, and newspaper clippings.
Albino’s niece, Alida Alequin, who lives in Oakland, worked with local police, the FBI, and the Justice Department to locate her uncle, who had been living on the East Coast. Albino, now a retired firefighter and Marine Corps veteran who served in Vietnam, was reunited with his family in June 2024.
The Ultimate Hiking Essentials: Top 10 Must-Have Items for Your Adventure
The kidnapping occurred on February 21, 1951, when a woman approached Albino while he was playing with his older brother in West Oakland. Speaking in Spanish, she promised the Puerto Rico-born boy candy but instead abducted him and flew him to the East Coast, where he was raised by a couple as their own son. The authorities did not disclose his exact location on the East Coast.
For over seven decades, Luis Armando Albino remained missing, but his family never gave up hope. His photo hung in relatives’ homes, and his mother, who passed away in 2005, believed he was still alive. Oakland police credited Alequin’s persistent efforts in finding her uncle, stating that her work was instrumental in solving the case.
In an interview, Alequin shared that her uncle hugged her and thanked her, saying, “Thank you for finding me,” and kissed her on the cheek.
During the initial investigation in 1951, a massive search was conducted by police, soldiers, the Coast Guard, and other city employees. Local waterways, including the San Francisco Bay, were searched. Luis’s brother, Roger, was interrogated multiple times, maintaining his account of a woman with a bandana abducting his brother.
The breakthrough in the case came in 2020 when Alequin took an online DNA test for fun, revealing a 22 percent match with a man who turned out to be her uncle. However, at that time, her search didn’t yield further answers or contact from him.
In early 2024, Alequin resumed her search, visiting the Oakland Public Library to review old newspaper articles on microfilm. A photograph of Luis and Roger from the 1950s convinced her she was on the right track. She approached the Oakland police, who reopened the missing persons case after reviewing the new lead.
Luis was eventually found and agreed to provide a DNA sample, which matched that of his sister, Alequin’s mother. On June 20, investigators informed Alequin and her mother that Luis had been located. Overwhelmed with emotion, Alequin shared, “We didn’t start crying until after the investigators left. I grabbed my mom’s hands and said, “We found him.”
On June 24, with the FBI’s assistance, Luis traveled to Oakland, where he reunited with Alequin, her mother, and other family members. The following day, they visited Roger’s home in Stanislaus County, California, where the brothers shared a long, emotional hug and reminisced about the kidnapping and their military experiences.
Luis returned to the East Coast after the reunion but visited again in July for a three-week stay. It was the last time he saw Roger, who passed away in August.
Though Luis declined media interviews, Alequin expressed her determination to find him and hopes her story inspires other families facing similar situations. “Don’t give up,” she said.
