A man from California, who mysteriously disappeared 25 years ago, was discovered alive over 500 miles away from his original home. His sister, who never ceased her search for him, played a significant role in his discovery. The man, whose identity remains undisclosed for privacy reasons, was found in a hospital in Los Angeles County. His family had reported him missing from Doyle, California, in 1999, according to the Lassen County Sheriff’s Office.
The man’s sister came across a USA Today article that sought information about an unidentified, nonverbal man who had been at the St. Francis Medical Center in Lynwood for over a month. The man had been found in South LA on April 15, as per the sheriff’s office. The woman recognized the man in the article’s photo as her long-lost brother and promptly contacted the Lassen County Sheriff’s Office.
Sheriff’s Deputy Derek Kennemore reached out to the hospital, only to learn that the patient had been moved to another hospital in the LA area in July. Kennemore then contacted the second hospital, which confirmed they had an unidentified, nonverbal patient in their care who matched the description of the missing man.
Kennemore subsequently alerted the Los Angeles police and the missing persons unit, who joined the investigation. An LAPD detective visited the hospital and fingerprinted the unidentified patient. The fingerprints were a match for the man from Doyle who had gone missing in 1999.
Kennemore then contacted the man’s sister to inform her that her brother, missing for over two decades, had been found safe. The sheriff’s office confirmed that the siblings would soon be reunited.