A youngster kidnapped from a California park over 70 years ago was rediscovered alive and well as a senior citizen and reunited with surviving loved ones when his niece discovered him across the country through her DNA investigation, authorities said Monday.
Luis Albino was just six years old when he was snatched from Jefferson Park Playground in Oakland on February 2, 1951, “by an unknown female who transported him out of state and eventually to the East Coast,” according to police.
The initial search for Albino was unsuccessful, and the case went unsolved for seven decades.
However, earlier this year, Albino’s niece returned to Oakland police and told authorities “that her online DNA test results matched an individual believed to be her uncle,” police said.
At the request of Oakland police, FBI investigators interviewed Albino at his home on the East Coast and obtained a DNA sample. According to investigators, his genetic material matched that of two surviving brothers in California, showing he was the boy stolen in 1951.
The FBI, the California Justice Department, and Oakland police planned and paid for Albino’s reunion with his long-lost family on June 24.
“It was an emotional moment for all parties involved and was a family reunion over 70 years in the making,” according to the police.
The Oakland police statement did not specify who detectives suspect removed Albino from the park seven decades ago, or who reared him.
“We are limited in what we can disclose at this time because the case is still under investigation,” an Oakland police representative said Tuesday.
It was a bittersweet reunion with his California family.
According to the Bay Area News Group, Albino’s 92-year-old mother died in 2005, never knowing what happened to her stolen son.
Albino was able to visit and spend time with his brother Roger this summer, who was with him at the park when they were stolen in 1951. Roger died last month.
“I think he died happily,” said Alida Alequin, 63, the niece who informed authorities about her 22% DNA match to Albino. “He was at peace with himself now that his sibling had been found. I was overjoyed to be able to help him find closure and serenity.”