KEY POINTS
- The boy was kidnapped by a man known as Wu
- He was sold to a couple in the province of Shandong
- Authorities traced the boy after using facial recognition technology and DNA analysis to identify his kidnapper
A 14-year-long quest for their missing child finally came to an end for a couple from the city of Shenzhen in China. They reunited with their now 18-year-old son who went missing in 2007, when he was just 4.
The distraught parents — father Sun Haiyang and mother Peng Siying — never gave up hope and continued searching everywhere possible for their precious son, Sun Zhuo, reported CNN.
They even sold off their property to fund the search for their missing child. They initially offered a reward of $15,700 for any information about their son but later increased it to $31,400, according to South China Morning Post (SCMP).
“I was ready to spend all my money, and even borrow money,” Haiyang told the outlet in a previous interview.
Over the years, the father traveled to nearly every region in China to look for the child, CNN added, citing a website run by the country’s Ministry of Public Security.
A man, known only by his surname Wu, abducted Zhuo by luring him with a toy as he was playing near his home in Shenzhen 14 years ago. The boy was then sold to a couple in the province of Shandong. The pair, known by their surname Guo, have two daughters.
Authorities eventually tracked down Zhuo after police used facial recognition technology and DNA analysis to help them identify the alleged kidnapper, who has been accused of adducting another child and is currently being detained.
The couple who bought Zhuo was initially detained for working with Wu, according to People. Under Chinese law, the maximum punishment for human trafficking is death, while buyers of trafficked people can be jailed for up to three years.
The Monday reunion was a teary one and a video of it was shared on YouTube.
“After 14 years and 57 days, he is a head taller than his mother. He brought us local specialties from where he lives now,” Haiyang wrote on social media following the reunion, as per SCMP. “He is the Sun Zhuo that all of us have looked for all these years.”
However, the boy revealed that he will continue living with his adoptive parents because they raised him for more than 10 years. He said the couple and their two daughters have treated him well.
Zhuo, who reportedly gets good grades at school, also said he was unaware of his birth parents.
The search for the family’s missing son served as an inspiration for the 2014 movie, “Dearest,” which was helmed by Hong Kong director Peter Chan.