After 25 years!

Woman discovers missing brother in the newspaper

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/stock.adobe.com/Rawpixel Ltd., St. Francis Medical Center)

This story should give hope to all those searching for missing family members. 25 years ago, a man from the small town of Doyle in northern California disappeared without a trace. Now his sister has discovered the missing man in a newspaper. 

Because the police saw no evidence of foul play, the search for the Californian was quickly called off. His sister Betty S. (name changed) had long given up hope of seeing him again until she saw a story in the "USA Today" newspaper a week ago. She couldn't believe her eyes. She recognized her brother in the accompanying photo.

Man was found back in April
In a press release on Facebook, the Lassen County Sheriff's Department wrote that colleagues in South Los Angeles had already discovered a "helpless man" in April and brought him to St. Francis Medical Center. Because the patient could not speak or otherwise make himself understood, the hospital was unable to determine the identity of the approximately 60-year-old man.

Here, the Lassen County Sheriff's office reports on the incident: 

That's why they contacted USA Today two weeks ago - this newspaper is read nationwide. After Betty S. saw the photo and "got over her shock," she called her local police department's 911 emergency line. Constable Derek Kennemore: "She told us that she thought she had discovered her brother, who had been missing since 1999, in a newspaper article. We then informed the hospital and our colleagues in Los Angeles."

Sister brought brother home
By comparing the fingerprints with the National Missing Persons Database, the patient was positively identified as Betty's brother. Mike Carney, spokesman for the Lassen County Sheriff's Department: "The sister was beside herself with joy and has since taken her brother home. She and the rest of her family are incredibly happy to be able to celebrate Thanksgiving with him again after a quarter of a century." For Carney, the reunion of the siblings is a "perfect example" of how families of missing persons should never give up hope.