Do miracles exist? For many in China one just happened: a father was finally reunited with his kidnapped son after searching tirelessly for 24 years. The man decided to get on a motorcycle and travel “more than 500 thousand kilometers throughout 20 provinces” in order to find the whereabouts of his little one. The emotional moment was recorded in Twitter and the story has already become viral.
In September 1997, Guo Xinzhen, who is now a teacher and is 26 years old, was abducted by an unknown woman while playing outside his home in Shandong province. Since then, the boy’s father began an incessant search throughout the Chinese territory, pursuing clues that could give him the whereabouts of his child.
Despite the efforts of the police, they found no traces of the minor. However, Guo Gangtang did not lower his arms and continued to tour his country with banners bearing the image of his kidnapped son. The man even slept under bridges, suffered traffic accidents, accumulated debt and spent his life savings to fulfill his mission.
According to the Ministry of Public Security of China, in June the police of Shandong received the alert of a possible coincidence with the abducted boy. After DNA testing, Xinzhen was identified as Guo Gangtang’s son.
The authorities also arrested two people suspected of kidnapping Guo Xinzhen. According to the police report, this couple committed the crime in the hope of selling the little boy. Therefore, the traffickers took a bus to neighboring Henan province and delivered it there to buyers.
“My dear, my dear, my dear. We have found you, my son, my son, ”Guo’s wife, Zhang Wenge, said tearfully as she hugged the young man. After the reunion, social networks ‘exploded’ with congratulatory messages.
In 2015, Guo Xinzhen’s case inspired the creation of ‘Lost and love’, a feature film starring renowned actor Andy Lau. “Today, Lost and Love finally has a truly happy ending,” said the film’s director, Peng Sanyuan, after the news was confirmed.
Kidnapping of children continues to be a tremendous problem in the Chinese nation, because hundreds of them disappear every month. The BBC indicates that according to a calculation carried out in 2015, “about 200 thousand children are kidnapped per year” to be sold both within the local territory and abroad.
