OAKLAND, California. Luis Armando Albino, who was abducted at the age of six from a park in Oakland, California, in 1951, has been found alive more than seven decades later on the East Coast. The remarkable discovery was made possible through an online ancestry test, historical photos, and newspaper clippings.
Albino’s niece, Alida Alequin, 63, with the help of the FBI, the Justice Department, and local police, located her uncle living on the East Coast. Albino, now a retired firefighter and Marine Corps veteran who served in Vietnam, was reunited with his family in California in June.
On February 21, 1951, a woman lured young Albino from the park where he was playing with his older brother, promising him candy. Instead, she kidnapped him and transported him to the East Coast. There, he was raised by a couple who adopted him as their own. The exact location of his residence on the East Coast remains undisclosed.
For over 70 years, Albino’s family never stopped searching for him. His photo was a constant presence in their homes, and despite his mother’s passing in 2005, hope never faded.
Alequin’s efforts were instrumental in locating Albino. She first suspected he might be alive in 2020 after a DNA test revealed a 22 percent match with a man who later turned out to be her uncle. Though initial searches yielded no results, her perseverance paid off. In early 2024, she revisited old Tribune articles and pursued new leads, ultimately prompting the reopening of Albino’s missing persons case.
On June 20, investigators confirmed Albino’s identity after comparing DNA samples from him and his sister. The reunion was emotional; Alequin recounted, “We didn’t start crying until after the investigators left. I grabbed my mom’s hands and said, ‘We found him.’ I was ecstatic.”
On June 24, with the FBI’s help, Albino traveled to Oakland and met with his family. The following day, Alequin drove him to meet his brother Roger in Stanislaus County, California. The siblings embraced and reminisced about the kidnapping and their shared experiences.
Luis returned to the East Coast but visited again in July for a three-week stay, marking his final visit with Roger, who passed away in August.
Alequin chose not to speak with the media on Albino’s behalf but shared her determination: “I was always determined to find him, and who knows, with my story out there, it could help other families going through the same thing. I would say, don’t give up.”
Paraluman P. Funtanilla
Paraluman P. Funtanilla is Tutubi News Magazine's Marketing Specialist and is a Contributing Editor. She finished her degree in Communication Arts in De La Salle Lipa. She has worked as a Digital Marketer for start-up businesses and small business spaces for the past two years. She has earned certificates from Coursera on Brand Management: Aligning Business Brand and Behavior and Viral Marketing and How to Craft Contagious Content. She also worked with Asia Express Romania TV Show.
