A California family's 70-year search for their kidnapped relative ended in June when online DNA testing put them on the right track to the exact opposite end of the country.
Luis Armando Albino, a retired firefighter and Vietnam War veteran living on the East Coast, was kidnapped from a park in Oakland, California, in 1951 when he was 6 years old.
He was playing with his older brother when a woman approached him, wearing a handkerchief, speaking to him in Spanish and promising to buy him candy if he would come with her.
For many of his family members, including his mother, who died in 2005, that was the last time they saw him. But the family held out hope for seven decades and kept his memory alive by always placing his photos in their homes.
After being kidnapped, Louis was airlifted across the country and raised by a couple on the East Coast.
Officials and family members have not said where he lives these days on the East Coast, and authorities are still investigating his kidnapping.
Luis' niece, Alida Arlequin, 63, said she found her long-lost relative after taking an online DNA test in 2020 “just for fun.”
The test showed that 22% of matches with a complete stranger turned out to be albino.
He tried to contact him but was unsuccessful.
She and her daughters began the search again in early 2024 and began searching through the Oakland Tribune's microfilm archives at the Oakland Public Library.
Articles from 1951 detailed the tireless efforts of search parties to find Lewis, which included deep diving into the San Francisco Bay and other waterways.
His older brother Roger, who was questioned several times, repeatedly testified that he had seen a woman wearing a kerchief carry Louis away.
With the records, including Luis and Roger’s photo, Arlequin presented enough evidence to law enforcement agencies to open a new missing person case for his missing uncle.
Oakland police praised Arlequin's efforts, saying he “played a key role in finding his uncle” and that “the outcome of this story is what we've been trying to get.”
After another DNA test, this time comparing Luis' DNA to that of Arlequin's mother, investigators confirmed the match and told the family on June 20 that their uncle had been found.
“We started crying only after the investigators left,” Arlequin said.
“I grabbed my mom’s hand and said, ‘We found him.’ I was so happy.”
The Federal Bureau of Investigation helped arrange for Luis and his family to come to California for a long-awaited reunion. They met with Arlequin, his mother, and other relatives on June 24.
Arlequin pointed out Bay Area News Group Louis hugged me and said, ‘Thank you for finding me’ and gave me a kiss on the cheek.
The next day, he went to visit Roger in Stanislaus County, California.
“They grabbed each other and hugged each other really tight. They sat down and just talked,” which included discussions about the day of the kidnapping and their shared military service, Arlequin said.
Louis, who had become a father and grandfather on the East Coast, returned to California for a three-week visit in July, just before Roger died in August.
His uncle did not want to speak to the media.
“I was always determined to find her, and who knows, by my story coming out, it might help other families going through the same situation,” Arlequin said. “That's what I would say, don't give up.”
Post with wires.
