Woman finds her missing brother after 25 years—all thanks to one picture in a news article

Sometimes, the biggest problems in our lives get solved in the most unexpected ways. We might have given up hope for any solution or closure, but things turned out in our favor eventually. Similarly, a woman found her missing brother after 25 years through an article in a newspaper. The woman, whose identity has not been revealed, saw an article asking to identify a missing person in USA Today. She reached out to the concerned authorities to inform them that the person might be her brother, who went missing in 1999. The details were revealed in a press release by the Lassen County Sheriff's Office on their Facebook page.

"On November 22, 2024, the Lassen County Sheriff's Office received a call from a woman who had some information on a previously reported missing person," the press release began. "The woman informed Sheriff's Deputy Derek Kennemore that she had been sent an article from USA Today that had a picture of a man that she believed to be her missing brother. The woman explained that her brother was reported missing in 1999 from Doyle, CA." Nobody had heard from the man since he went missing, per the statement. "The USA Today article was printed in April 2024 and was requesting assistance in identifying the man, who had been admitted to a hospital in the Los Angeles, CA area."

"Deputy Kennemore contacted the hospital and was told that the man was transferred to another hospital in the Los Angeles area in July 2024. The man was nonverbal and had never been identified," the statement explained. "Deputy Kennemore contacted the second hospital, who confirmed that they had a non-verbal, unidentified man in their care that matched the description of the missing person." After calls and investigation, Deputy Kennemore was put in touch with a detective. "The Detective responded to the hospital and fingerprinted the man. The Detective was able to positively identify the man as the one reported missing in 1999 from Doyle, CA."

"Deputy Kennemore recontacted the woman and informed her that, with the assistance of LAPD, we were able to positively identify the man as her brother," it was further revealed. The family will get to meet each other soon. However, their identity has not been disclosed for privacy reasons. "The Lassen County Sheriff's Office would like to commend Deputy Kennemore on his tenacity with this case," the statement pointed out. "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."

The sister was ecstatic to have her brother back after so many years, as reported by ABC News. "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," Captain Mike Carney of the Lassen County Sheriff's Office told the outlet. "It's gonna make their Thanksgiving that much better," he added. Carney believes that the story is a perfect example of why authorities shouldn't give up on cases involving missing people. "Be tenacious when it comes to these things because there are family members that want answers," he added.