Could someone take me through how this John Maloof fellow suddenly has all of the copyrights to these photos? Clearly the photographer would never have sold th

Could someone take me through how this John Maloof fellow suddenly has all of the copyrights to these photos? Clearly the photographer would never have sold these photos and the copyright term would not have expired. The photos would be in the "lost or stolen" category wouldn't they? If anything at all, they should be (in a perfect world, I know copyright doesn't work this way) public domain if no heir steps forward to claim them.