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A man who disappeared from Northern California in 1999 has been found alive, 25 years after vanishing without a trace. His identity was confirmed earlier this year when his sister recognized his photo in an online news article, leading to a miraculous family reunion.
The man, whose name has not been disclosed, went missing in August 1999 from Doyle, California, a small town near the Nevada border. His family had spent decades searching for answers. According to his sister, who created a GoFundMe to support his care, the disappearance was baffling. “He just VANISHED with no trace. Not even his vehicle was ever located,” she wrote. For years, she feared the worst and searched for unidentified remains.
The breakthrough came in May 2024 when the sister saw a USA Today article requesting help identifying a nonverbal man hospitalized in Lynwood, California. The man had been found sitting on a curb in South Los Angeles in April and taken in for medical care. Recognizing him as her brother, she contacted the Lassen County Sheriff’s Department, which began working to confirm his identity.
Deputy Derek Kennemore of Lassen County contacted the hospital mentioned in the article but discovered that the man had been transferred to another facility in Los Angeles. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s Missing Persons Unit then conducted a fingerprint analysis, confirming that the hospitalized man was indeed the one who had been missing since 1999.
The discovery was celebrated as a “miraculous reunion” by the Nor-Cal Alliance for the Missing, a nonprofit that had worked on the case since 2016. In a news release, the group announced that the man would soon reunite with his family after more than two decades apart.
Though he is now nonverbal and relearning how to walk, the man remains hospitalized as his family makes arrangements for his care. His sister’s GoFundMe aims to raise funds for his medical needs and transport. She shared her excitement about reconnecting with her brother and her plans to send him a music player loaded with his favorite songs to aid his recovery and memory.
Details about the man’s life during the 25 years he was missing remain unclear, but his family is overjoyed to have him back. The sister expressed gratitude to everyone who helped, saying, “It’s a miracle.”
This extraordinary case underscores the power of persistence, public awareness, and collaboration among advocacy groups and law enforcement. After decades of unanswered questions, one photo and a family’s unwavering hope brought a missing loved one back home.
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