Woman finds brother who went missing in 1999 after spotting his photo in news article
A long-lost California man who went missing 25 years ago will be reunited with his family after his sister saw a photo of him in a news article.
The unidentified adult went missing in 1999 for unknown reasons in Doyle, California.
For more than 20 years, no one, including his family, had heard from the 6-foot-2 man, now believed to be in his mid-60s.
But on April 15, he was discovered in South Los Angeles and taken to St. Francis Medical Center in Lynwood.
Due to his nonverbal state, he was unable to provide his name or any information about himself to hospital officials and the Lassen County Sheriff’s Office.
For the next six months, the hospital’s social services department was unable to reach family members for the patient.
He was transferred to another hospital in Los Angeles in July 2024.
But on Nov. 22, a woman informed Deputy Sheriff Derek Kennemore that the patient was her brother after seeing a photo of him at a hospital. USA Today article from April.
A long-lost California man who went missing 25 years ago has now been reunited with his family after his sister saw a photo of him in a news article
“The woman informed sheriff’s deputy Derek Kennemore that she had been sent a USA Today article with a photo of a man she believed was her missing brother.
“The woman explained that her brother was reported missing in 1999 from Doyle, Ca. The man has not been heard from since.
“The USA Today article was printed in April 2024 asking for help identifying the man, who was admitted to a hospital in the Los Angeles, Ca area,” the sheriff’s office said.
Officials soon contacted a detective from the Los Angeles Police Department’s Missing Persons Unit to confirm his identity.
The detective then fingerprinted the patient at the LA hospital and conducted a check.
The results showed that he was indeed the brother of the woman who was reported missing almost thirty years ago.
“Deputy Kennemore contacted the Los Angeles Police Department, Missing Persons Unit, and was put in touch with a detective. The detective called the hospital and took the man’s fingerprints.
“The detective was able to positively identify the man as the one reported missing in Doyle, Ca in 1999.
On April 15, he was discovered in South Los Angeles and taken to St. Francis Medical Center in Lynwood.
On November 22, a woman informed Deputy Sheriff Derek Kennemore (pictured) that the patient was her brother after seeing a photo of him in an April USA Today article.
“Deputy Kennemore contacted the woman again and advised her that, with the assistance of the LAPD, we were able to positively identify the man as her brother,” Captain Mike Carney further said in the press release.
Officers confirmed the family will be reunited soon and all names are being withheld for privacy reasons.
According to ABC, the newly found man was ‘voluntarily missing’.
After the miraculous discovery, Captain Carney told the outlet that the sister was “super excited.”
‘She really appreciated that we took the time to follow up. She was over the moon and wanted to call other family members to let them know.
“It’ll make their Thanksgiving so much better,” he revealed happily.
Speaking about the case, he called it a “perfect example” of refusing to give up on finding missing people.
“Be persistent when it comes to these things because there are family members who want answers,” he suggested.