German son seeks reunion with father

Have you seen this man?

Emin Bernd Alihodic was born on July 21, 1951 in Siegen, Germany and immigrated to the United States sometime in the late 1980s.

Emin Bernd Alihodic was born on July 21, 1951 in Siegen, Germany and immigrated to the United States sometime in the late 1980s. Alihodic left behind two children and an ex-wife. His son, Jens Alihodic Luschnt, 35, came to Palm Springs on Monday, Aug. 12 to search for his biological father with only a newspaper article describing how his dad was rescued twice off Mount San Jacinto on Feb. 9, 2009 and then again on May 13, 2010.

Jens, who speaks little or no English, was adopted by his step-father at the age of 10 and only knows a little about his biological father from stories his mother told him through the years.

“I’d like to know more about him. How’s he been living all these years,” the younger Alihodic said through a German/English interpreter.

said he started looking for his father about a year and a half ago after meeting the love of his life, Karin Huebers. He and Karin want to start their own family soon and through her urging, they traveled to Palm Springs to search for his biological father.

“I didn’t have the ambition before, but now I’m curious about my real dad. I’d like to at least meet him and talk a little. I’d ask him what he’s been doing for the past 30 years,” he said.

Jens said he found a second wife, Karen Schleich, living in San Francisco who also would like to reconnect with Emin and hopes the younger son finds success in the Coachella Valley. Jens and Karin went to the last known addresses searching and learned he was seen as recently as last March.

“So the good news is that he is still alive and still in the area somewhere,” he said. Jens and Karin only have two weeks to locate Emin and will be returning to Germany on Friday, Aug. 23. If Emin reads this story and would like to reconnect with his grown son, he should emailjensluschnat78@gmail.com.