Man who vanished without a trace 25 years ago found alive after his sister spotted picture in news article
Topics: News, US News, California
Gerrard Kaonga
Featured Image Credit: St. Francis Medical Center
Topics: News, US News, California
A man who was reported to be missing for more than two decades will be 'soon' be reunited with his sister.
The man, whose name has been withheld for privacy, was located in a Los Angeles county hospital over the weekend.
St Francis Medical Center in Lynwood confirmed to the Lassen County Sheriff’s Office that the man had been at the hospital for more than a month after officials found him in southern Los Angeles on April 15, as per The New York Post.
However, officials were unable to identify the man, USA Today reports.
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They even took to social media and shared a picture of him in hopes that his family would recognize him and be able to help them.
In a LinkedIn post, they said: “We are seeking the community’s help with identifying a patient and locating his family. The patient is a white male approximately in his mid-60s.
“He has gray hair and blue eyes. He is about 6’1 and 125 lbs. He was found on April 15 on E.96th Street in the Florence-Graham area of South Los Angeles.
“He is not able to communicate his name or other informaiton that would assist with his identification.”
In response, a woman has come forward and claimed that the man is her lost brother, who was first reported as missing from Doyle, California way back in 1999.
According to Lassen County Sheriff's Office, the woman had been sent a news article from USA Today by a friend, leading her to contact Sheriff’s Deputy, Derek Kennemore.
The Sheriff Office's Facebook post continued: "Deputy Kennemore contacted the hospital and was told that the man was transferred to another hospital in the Los Angeles area in July 2024.
"The man was non verbal and had never been identified. Deputy Kennemore contacted the second hospital who confirmed that they had a non-verbal, unidentified man in their care that matched the description of the missing person."
He then contacted the Los Angeles Police Department and the Missing Persons Unit before being put in contact with a detective, who went to the hospital and fingerprinted the man - which came back positive and identified him as the woman's brother.
They said that 'the family will be reunited soon', adding: "The Lassen County Sheriff’s Office would like to commend Deputy Kennemore on his tenacity with this case.
"We would also like to thank the Los Angles [sic] Police Department for their assistance in identifying the missing man and closing out this 25 year old case."
UNILAD has contacted Lassen County Police and St Francis Medical Center for additional comment.