Kidnapped at 6 Man meets missing brother after 73 years - and dies shortly afterwards

Because she just wouldn't let go, a woman from California tracked down her uncle who had been missing for decades. He had been abducted from a playground when he was six years old.

Luis Armando Albino was considered missing for more than 70 years. Born in Puerto Rico, the six-year-old boy disappeared in Oakland, California, in 1951. After that, there was no trace of him for decades: but his family never gave up hope and have now tracked him down on the other side of the USA.

CBS reports, citing local media, that Albino's niece Alida Alequin has tracked down her uncle with the help of an online genetic test, old photos and newspaper articles. A father and grandfather himself, the retired firefighter now lived on the east coast.

Woman had abducted the six-year-old boy from the playground

The police, FBI and Department of Justice had helped Alequin to find his uncle and bring him to California in June for a family reunion. There, Luis Armando Albino also met his brother Roger again: in 1951, he had had to watch as his brother was lured from a playground by a woman with the promise of sweets - and abducted.

Police, soldiers from a local army base, the coast guard and other municipal employees took part in a large-scale search for the missing boy. Roger Albino was questioned several times by the investigators, but maintained that a woman wearing a headscarf had kidnapped his younger brother.

The kidnapper had apparently flown the boy to the east coast, where he ended up with a couple who had raised him as their own son. His own mother had never given up hope that Luis Armando Albino was still alive until her death in 2005. But it was to be almost 20 years before the family had any certainty.

"Thank you for finding me"

Alida Alequin found the first indications that her uncle was still alive in 2020, when she took an online DNA test "for fun". The result: a 22% match with a man who ultimately turned out to be her uncle. After further research proved unsuccessful, the niece tried again at the beginning of 2024.

Using newspaper articles and photos in the library, she found a new lead and persuaded the police to reopen the kidnapping case. Luis was located on the east coast and gave a DNA sample, as did his sister, Alequin's mother.

After the samples were analyzed, it was clear that Alida Alequin had found Luis Armando Albino. She was overjoyed in an interview. Her uncle hugged her, kissed her on the cheek and said: "Thank you for finding me."

For Luis' brother Roger, the reunion of the family came just in time. After their first meeting in June, the brothers saw each other a second time in July - before Roger died in August, certain that he had found his inner peace.