A non-verbal man who vanished without a trace in 1999 has been found 25 years later after his sister spotted his photo in a news article.
The man, who has not been named, disappeared from Doyle, California, in 1999 and hadn’t been seen or heard from since, Lassen County Sheriff’s Office said on Monday.
The man, now in his mid-60s, is said to have disappeared of his own accord, reported ABC News.
Now, 25 years later, the man will soon be reunited with his family thanks to a USA Today article.
The article, published in May, detailed how a non-verbal man had been found on April 15 in the Florence-Graham area of south Los Angeles.
The man, who was not able to communicate his name or other information that would assist with his identification, was taken to St Francis Medical Center in Lynwood.
The outlet shared a photo of the man and issued an appeal to help in identifying him.
A woman saw the article and called police to say she believed the man in the photo was her brother who had gone missing decades earlier.
By that time, the mystery man had been moved to another hospital in LA, Lassen County Sheriff’s Office said.
The man’s fingerprints were taken, confirming that he was indeed the woman’s missing brother.
LCSOs Captain Mike Carney said on Tuesday that the sister “was super excited” by the news and was looking forward to being reunited for the holidays.
“She was very appreciative that we took the time just to follow up on it. She was over the moon and anxious to call other family members to let them know,” he said.
“It’s gonna make their Thanksgiving that much better.”
Caren Bohan, USA Today’s editor-in-chief, told The State that the uplifting story was “the epitome of service journalism and reaffirms our mission to enrich the communities we serve.”
