A missing boy has been found alive and well 73 years after being abducted, putting an end to a decades-old cold case.
Luis Armando Albino, who was born in Puerto Rico, was aged 6 when he was snatched from a park in West Oakland, California in 1951.
According to multiple reports, Albino was tracked down thanks to DNA testing and newspaper clippings and was found alive on the east coast of the USA.
Albino, a retired firefighter and Marine Corps veteran, was found after 73 years by his niece Alida Alequin, 63, the LA Times reports.
Albino was playing in Jefferson Square Park near his family home with his brother Roger in February 1951 when he was lured away, an article from the Oakland Tribune reported at the time.
His niece told the press Albino was taken to the east coast by a couple who then raised him as their son.
Albino’s mother, who died in 2005, kept a newspaper clipping of the article about the kidnapping in her wallet until her death.
“She always had hope that he would come home,” Alequin told The Times.
The long-lost boy was found after his niece took a DNA test in 2020 and matched with a man who turned out to be her uncle, Albino.
With the help of the FBI and Justice Department, Alequin worked to track Albino down and reunited him with his family.
A DNA sample from Albino reportedly proved his identity.
Albino reconnected with his brother Roger, who died shortly after.
Alequin told The Times her uncle said he had some memories of being abducted but was never able to find the truth.
He was not willing to speak to the media after being found.
A Missing Persons report on Luis Armando Albino has been since taken down from the California Department of Justice website.
Police told Mercury News, which first reported the story: “the outcome of this story is what we strive for.”
