All about the missing boy who was kidnapped in 1951 and found alive 73 years later

A Californian boy who was lured away by a woman wearing a headscarf while playing in a park in 1951 was found alive more than 70 years later – and is now a grandfather living on the east coast.

Luis Armando Albino was just six years old when he disappeared from a park in West Oakland on February 21, 1951, where he was playing with his brother Roger.

One reason Albino was found was because his niece took a DNA test that led her to an uncle his family had not seen for over half a century.

Here’s what we know about Albino’s incredible story:

Kidnapped as a child

While Albino was playing with his brother, a woman wearing a red headscarf lured him by promising him candy, according to the Associated Press.

The AP reported that the woman spoke to the young albino of Puerto Rican descent in Spanish.

But instead of buying the boy candy, the woman flew him across the country to the east coast, where he was reportedly raised by another family.

The Guardian reported that Roger was repeatedly questioned by detectives about his disappearance.

At the time, Oakland police told PEOPLE that local authorities, along with the U.S. Coast Guard and soldiers from a local military base, had conducted an unsuccessful search of California waterways, including San Francisco Bay.

Niece Sparks Search

Alida Alequin was the first to spot a sign that her long-lost uncle was still alive. In 2020, Alequin decided to take an online DNA test “for fun,” KTVU reported. When the test result came back, it reportedly showed a 22 percent match with a man as her uncle.

Alequin searched for the man at the time but found no answers. But in February 2024, she and her daughters began searching again.

Determined, Alequin went to the Oakland Public Library, the AP reported, and watched films of old Oakland-Tribune Articles that showed a picture of Roger and Luis. She then contacted the police to file a missing person report.

“On March 18, 2024, a woman contacted OPD's Missing Persons Unit regarding the possible whereabouts and identity of her uncle, Luis Albino, who had been missing for more than 70 years,” Oakland police told PEOPLE. “The woman told our investigators that her online DNA test results matched an individual believed to be her uncle, who was abducted in 1951.”

Luis is

After Alequin reported her findings to the Oakland Police Department, the search for Albino began for the first time in many years.

Then, in June, Oakland police gave Alequin the good news: her uncle had been tracked down on the East Coast.

“In my heart I knew it was him, and when I got the confirmation, I let out a loud 'YES!'” Alequin said loudly The Mercury News.

Alequin was reportedly told by police that Albino was a retired firefighter and Marine Corps veteran and now a grandfather.

Reunited brothers

Just days after his discovery, the AP reported that Albino traveled to Oakland, where he met his niece in person. She then drove him to Roger's house, where the brothers reunited for the first time in 73 years.

“They hugged each other and hugged each other really tightly and for a long time, then they sat down and just talked,” Alequin said, according to AP.

The AP reported that Roger died in August after Albino returned for an extended visit in July.

The kidnapping case remains under investigation, Oakland police said.