Seventy-three years later, the 1951 Oakland kidnapping of a six-year-old child has been solved, and amazingly, there’s a happy ending.
Thanks to the persistent efforts of his devoted niece, who never gave up on finding her long-lost family, Luis Armando Albino has been located safe and healthy.
On February 21, 1951, Albino, now 79 years old, was kidnapped by a lady from a West Oakland park where he was playing with his ten-year-old elder brother, Roger.
The woman got his attention and lured him away by tricking him, promising that she would buy him candy.
Little Luis was then flown across the country to the East Coast where he was raised by a New York City couple as if he were their own son.
Luis’s mother never gave up on the possibility that he would one day return, safe and sound. Sadly, she died in 2005 at the age of 92 without ever finding out what had become of her much-missed son.
Only early this year, an interested and determined niece of Luis’s utilised DNA testing and information from newspaper clippings in her quest for the truth, leading to a breakthrough in the case.
The 63-year-old niece, Alida Alequin, had stayed in Oakland and was determined to locate her long-lost uncle. With assistance from the Department of Justice, the FBI, and local police, she was able to piece together the evidence.
Oakland police say her efforts ‘played an integral role in finding her uncle.’
Since he had been taken from his family, Luis appeared to have led quite the life having worked as a firefighter and served in the Marine Corps, including two tours of duty in Vietnam. He had also become a father and grandfather himself.
For the first time in 73 years, the 83-year-old brothers Luis and Roger were able to reunite thanks to Alida’s efforts.
She told Mercury News how her uncle ‘hugged me and said, “Thank you for finding me” and gave me a kiss on the cheek.’
The reunion was bittersweet with Roger having recently been diagnosed with cancer and not having much time left to live.
‘They grabbed each other and had a really tight, long hug. They sat down and just talked,’ Alida said as the pair caught up on the past including their military service and what happened on the day of the kidnapping.
This past July, Luis had one final encounter with his brother before Roger passed away in August, a month later.
‘I think he died happily. He was at peace with himself, knowing that his brother was found. I was just so happy I was able to do this for him and bring him closure and peace,’ Alida said.
As for Luis’ mother and Alida’s grandma, she believes that she would have been ‘very happy, most definitely. She never forgot him. She always said he was still alive. She had hoped she would see him. She never gave up that hope.’
‘I’m so happy that I was able to do this for my mom and (uncle). It was a very happy ending,’ she said. ‘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.’
Although Luis hasn’t talked to the media yet, he does remember certain details of his captivity.
Frustratingly, the adults surrounding him in New York refused to answer any questions as to why he was abducted, and he was never told what was going on.
The people he believed were his parents have since died.
Luis, the eldest of five siblings, had been playing at West Oakland’s former Jefferson Square Park.
Police, together with Coast Guard personnel and army soldiers, combed the region and San Francisco Bay after his kidnapping.
In an attempt to aid, the FBI was also brought in, but the matter was abandoned.
Luis’ mother would frequently stop by the police missing person bureau to check on the situation; at first, she would go every day, then every week, then every month, and finally, once a year. However, it seemed that the authorities were no closer to discovering the truth.
‘She always felt he was alive. She took that with her to her grave’ Alida said.
‘All this time the family kept thinking of him,’ she continued. ‘I always knew I had an uncle. We spoke of him a lot. My grandmother carried the original article in her wallet, and she always talked about him. A picture of him was always hung at the family home.’
However, Alida was the one who started things off when she did an online DNA test for fun in 2020.
It wasn’t until later this year that Alida’s daughters began probing the case once again and looked up Luis’ name online.
Pictures of him found on microfilm at the Oakland Public Library only served to reassure them the man they were looking at was indeed their long-lost uncle.
The FBI and the state Department of Justice were once again involved in a newly established missing people investigation.
It was discovered that Luis was residing on the East Coast, and he even submitted a DNA sample to verify his identity.
Investigators went around to Alida’s mother’s home (Luis and Roger’s sister) to confirm that Luis had finally been found.
‘In my heart, I knew it was him and when I got the confirmation, I let out a big “YES!”‘, Alida said.
‘We didn’t start crying until after the investigators left. I grabbed my mom’s hands and said, “We found him.” I was ecstatic.’
The FBI claims that the kidnapping is still under investigation even if the case involving the missing individuals has been closed.
This is an incredible story, but it is such a shame that his brother Roger only met him for a short time before he passed away, but hopefully he is at peace now knowing that his brother had been found after such a long time, and the niece was incredible, but I would like to learn more about the people who abducted Luis. Perhaps a documentary is on the horizon? But we mustn’t embolden his abusers either.
No more than serial killers should be placed on a symbolic pedestal in the media out of the same fascination, these kidnappers should not be honoured in a curiosity documentary, but then I suppose it depends on how the documentary is approached.
Provided that it eschewed any joyous material in favour of an educational one, giving us a peek into the place where he was kidnapped, the type of upbringing he had, and maybe some explanation for why he was kidnapped, surrendered to, or sold to.
Thanks to social media sleuths, DNA testing, Amber Alerts, and other initiatives, there is hope for the recovery of kidnapped children in the twenty-first century. A documentary would not only be fascinating, but it would also be educational, giving hope to families whose children are missing and the tools and assistance they sorely want.
This man who was abducted probably grew to love his new family and didn’t want to hurt them. He was clearly looked after, and perhaps the people who illegally adopted him had no idea that he’d been kidnapped.
There’s only the mention of ‘his new family’ and also the article stating that the FBI still has an open case for finding the abductors, which leaves the impression that they’re not the same people who adopted him.
I’m very glad he had a happy ending, even if his mother passed away without knowing where her son was. She probably thought about his whereabouts every day. By far, the cruellest thing I can imagine is losing a child.
Young children will not remember things about themselves, let alone their parents’ details, where they live, or what school they go to. Most children, if you asked their mother’s name would just say ‘Mom’.
This child could have been told anything about her parents. That they had died in a horrific car accident. The boy could have been abducted by what looked like a policeman in uniform and he was being taken to his aunt or uncle or another family member. Easy thing to do, because a child’s mind is like a sponge and easy to manipulate.
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