A man who had been missing for over 20 years is on the verge of being reunited with his sister.
For privacy reasons, the identity of the man has not been disclosed, but he was discovered in a hospital in Los Angeles County over the weekend.
According to The New York Post, St Francis Medical Center in Lynwood confirmed to the Lassen County Sheriff’s Office that the man had been at their facility for more than a month after being found in southern Los Angeles on April 15.
Despite their efforts, authorities were initially unable to identify him, as noted by USA Today.
They even resorted to social media, posting a photo of him in hopes that his family might recognize him and provide assistance.
In a LinkedIn post, they stated: “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 information that would assist with his identification.”
A woman has since come forward, asserting that the man is her brother, who was reported missing in 1999 from Doyle, California.
The Lassen County Sheriff’s Office stated that the woman learned of this from a USA Today article sent by a friend, prompting her to reach out to Sheriff’s Deputy, Derek Kennemore.
The Sheriff’s Office shared on Facebook: “Deputy Kennemore contacted the hospital and was informed that the man had been transferred to another hospital in the Los Angeles area in July 2024.
“The man was non-verbal and had never been identified. Deputy Kennemore reached out to the second hospital, which confirmed they had a non-verbal, unidentified man in their care matching the missing person’s description.”
Deputy Kennemore then coordinated with the Los Angeles Police Department and the Missing Persons Unit, leading to a detective visiting the hospital to fingerprint the man. The fingerprints matched, confirming the man as the woman’s brother.
The Sheriff’s Office stated that ‘the family will be reunited soon’, and expressed appreciation for Deputy Kennemore’s persistence, saying: “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 Angeles Police Department for their assistance in identifying the missing man and closing out this 25-year-old case.”