Oakland, Calif. - Luis Armando Albino was just 6 years old when he was abducted in 1951 while playing in a park in Oakland, California. Now, more than 70 years later, Albino has finally been found with the help of an online ancestry test, old photos and newspaper clips.
The Bay Area News Group reported Friday that Albino's niece was in Oakland - with assistance from police, the FBI and the Justice Department - to locate her uncle, who was found to be living on the East Coast.
Albino was a father and grandfather, a veteran firefighter and a Marine veteran of the Vietnam War, said his niece, Alida Alequin, 63. She found Albino in June and was reunited with him.
On February 21, 1951, a woman used Spanish to lure 6-year-old Albino, who was playing with his brother, by promising to buy him candy.
Instead, the woman kidnapped him and flew him to the East Coast, where he was raised by a couple who treated him as their son, the Bay Area News Group reported. Officials and family members have not said where Albino lived on the East Coast.
Albino has been in the hearts of his family for more than 70 years since his disappearance, and his picture has hung in the homes of relatives. Albino's mother died in 2005 but never gave up hope that her son was still alive.
Oakland police acknowledged that Alaikin's efforts "played an important role in the search for her uncle" and said "the outcome of this story is what we are after."
In an interview with the Bay Area News Group, she said her uncle "hugged me and said: 'Thank you for finding me. 'and kissed me on the cheek."
Articles in the Oakland Tribune at the time reported that police, soldiers from the local barracks, the Coast Guard and other municipal workers were involved in a massive search for the missing boy. Searches were also reported in San Francisco Bay and other waters. Albino's older brother, Roger Albino, has been interrogated several times but has always stuck to his story - that a woman wearing a hijab took his younger brother.
Alaikin first thought her uncle might still be alive around 2020, when she took an online DNA test "just for fun." It turned out that she was 22% related to a man, who was eventually confirmed to be her uncle. Although further searches at the time yielded no response, she did not give up.
In early 2024, she and her daughters resumed their search. During a visit to the Oakland Public Library, she looked at the Tribune microfilm, which included a picture of Louis and Roger, to convince her that she was on the right track. She went to the Oakland police that day.
Investigators eventually agree that this new lead is significant and reopen a missing person case. Oakland police said last week that the missing person case was closed, but they and the FBI believe the kidnapping remains an open investigation.
Louis was located and provided a DNA sample, as did his sister (Alaikin's mother).
Alaikin said investigators came to her mother's home on June 20 and told both mother and daughter that her uncle had been found.
"It was only after the investigators left that we started crying," Alekin said. "I grabbed my mother's hand and said, 'We found him.' 'I'm excited."
On June 24, with the help of the FBI, Lewis traveled to Oakland and met with Alaikin, her mother and other relatives. The next day, Alekin drove her mother and newly found uncle to Roger's home in Stanislaus County, California.
"They hugged each other for a long, tight time. They sat down and talked, "she said, discussing the day of the kidnapping, their military careers and more.
Louis returned to the East Coast, but returned in July, this time for a three-week visit. It was also the last time he saw Roger, who died in August.
Alekin said her uncle did not want to talk to the media. "I've always been determined to find him, and who knows if my story will help other families going through the same thing," Alekin said. "I would tell them, don't give up."
