- Title: Chinese man reunited with kidnapped son after 24-year search
- Date: 14th July 2021
- Summary: PHOTO OF FAMILY PHOTO OF CHILD BEFORE HIS KIDNAPPING VARIOUS OF FATHER RIDING MOTORCYCLE WITH FLAG ATTACHED AT THE BACK, SHOWING IMAGE OF HIS KIDNAPED SON AND MESSAGE PLEADING FOR HELP AND INFORMATION
- Embargoed:
- Keywords: China DNA Shandong child abduction crime family reunion kidnapped reunited search
- Location: LIAOCHENG, SHANDONG PROVINCE, UNKNOWN LOCATIONS, CHINA
- City: LIAOCHENG, SHANDONG PROVINCE, UNKNOWN LOCATIONS, CHINA
- Country: China
- Topics: Asia / Pacific,Society/Social Issues
- Reuters ID: LVA002ELT9AVB
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: A middle-aged Chinese man was finally reunited with his abducted son on Sunday (July 11) after zig-zagging across China on his motorcycle for 24 years in his tireless search for his child, state media reported.
China's public security ministry said their police force tracked down a man fitting the son's description in central Henan province in June. After a DNA test confirming the relationship, a family reunion was arranged on Sunday, Xinhua reported.
Guo Xinzhen, who is now a 26-year-old teacher, was kidnapped aged two in September 1997 by an unknown woman while playing outside his home, Xinhua reported. The woman and her boyfriend then immediately sold the child to a family in nearby Henan province.
After initial efforts by locals and the police found no trace of the boy, his father Guo Gangtang, from a village in Liaocheng, Shandong province, refused to give up and began a what would be a decades-long search for his son.
Guo, then in his 20s, travelled China on his motorcycle with banners attached bearing an image of his lost son and carrying a bag full of flyers, chasing after tip-offs. His journey of around 500,000 km (310,686 miles) took him to most of China's provinces, damaged 10 motorcycles, sustained injuries in traffic accidents, spent all of his savings and racked up huge debts, Xinhua reported.
State broadcaster CCTV showed footage of the emotional reunion held at a police station, where the couple cried while hugging their son tightly. Two people had been arrested suspected of abducting Xinzhen, the police said.
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