He had disappeared of his own free will without leaving a trace: 25 years later, his sister found him by coming across his photo in the newspaper

A Californian who had disappeared without a trace 25 years ago was found alive more than 500 miles away this weekend, thanks in large part to his sister who never stopped looking for him. The man, whose name was withheld for privacy reasons, was located at a Los Angeles County hospital after his family reported him missing in 1999 in Doyle, California, reports CBS News. The man, now aged around sixty, is said to have disappeared from of his own free willaccording to ABC News.

His sister received an article fromUSA Today posted in May seeking information about an unidentified, incapacitated man who had been at St. Francis Medical Center in Lynwood for more than a month after authorities found him in South Los Angeles on April 15 .

She immediately thought that the man in the photo in the article was her brother long lost and called the Lassen County Sheriff to investigate. Deputy Sheriff Derek Kennemore contacted the hospital, but was told by staff that the patient had been transferred to another hospital in the Los Angeles area in July. He called the second hospital. The facility confirmed to her that it had among its patients a man who matched the description of the woman's missing brother.

The sister “super excited” to find her brother

Kennemore then alerted the Los Angeles Police Department and the missing persons unit who joined the investigation. An LAPD detective went to the hospital and took fingerprints from the unknown patient. These matched those of Doyle's man, who disappeared in 1999. So Kennemore called the man's sister to tell her that after more than two decades, his brother had finally been found safe and sound. The brother and sister should be reunited soon.

The sister was “super excited” to find his brother, said Captain Mike Carney from the Lassen County Sheriff's Office has ABC News. “She was very grateful that we took the time to follow up. She was over the moon and couldn't wait to call other family members to let them know.” The reunion “will make their Thanksgiving even better”he added, calling the story “perfect example” about why families should maintain hope in missing persons cases.