A man who went missing 25 years ago has been found and will be reunited with his family after his sister saw a photo of her long-lost brother in a newspaper article, California authorities said this week.
Lassen County Sheriff's Office Said The woman called them on Friday and told Sheriff's Deputy Derek Kennemore that she had been dispatched USA Today article from May, which asked readers for help identifying a non-verbal, hospitalized man in a Los Angeles hospital. The woman told Kennemore she believed the man was her brother, who was reported missing in 1999 and has not been heard from since.
Kennemore contacted the hospital and was told the man was transferred to another facility in July. Another hospital confirmed to Kennemore that they had a “non-verbal, unidentified individual in their care who matches the description of the missing individual,” police said.
Kennemore then contacted the Los Angeles Police Department's Missing Persons Unit. A detective went to the hospital to get the man's fingerprints. That process allowed the LAPD to positively identify a man who was reported missing in 1999.
Kennemore then contacted the woman again to inform her of the positive identification. Neither the man nor his sister are being identified for privacy reasons.
The Lassen County Sheriff's Office said the family will soon be reunited and the missing persons case has been closed.