A high school foreign exchange student was reported missing in Utah on Friday when his parents in China received a ransom note along with a photo of the boy, police said.
Kai Zhuang, 17, who resides in Riverdale, Utah, located 34 miles north of Salt Lake City, was last seen attending school Thursday morning.
“The parents informed school officials that they received a photograph of their child that would indicate he was kidnapped and requested a ransom,” Riverdale Police Chief Casey Warren said at a news conference.
The school contacted the police department about a possible kidnapping around 8:30 p.m. Thursday.
Zhuang’s host parents told police they were unaware of the student’s disappearance, stating they saw him the day before and heard him in the house around 3:30 a.m.
After Zhuang failed to reappear Friday morning, an endangered missing person notice was issued for the teen, describing him as an Asian male, 5’9″ – 5’10”, approximately 150 pounds, with black/brown eyes and brown/black hair. .
Kai Zhuang was reported missing after his parents in China received a note with his photo indicating he had been kidnapped and demanded a ransom. KUTV2/YouTube
Police officers initially suspected Zhuang had been “forcibly removed from his home and held against his will,” according to KUTV.
Warren, however, later clarified that “there was no evidence to suggest he was forcibly removed from his home in Riverdale.”
An Amber Alert was never sent out for Zhuang’s disappearance as police have no identity as to who may have kidnapped the teen, the motive or whether the kidnappers knew him, his family or his host family.
Riverdale Police Chief Casey Warren said there is no evidence to support the teen was kidnapped from his home. KUTV2/YouTube
Police provided few details, but added that they were working with the FBI, the U.S. Embassy in China and Chinese officials to help locate the missing child, as “several investigative efforts” are already underway.
“At this time the information we have is very limited, detectives and officers from other jurisdictions have been assisting us,” Warren added. “We have been working vigorously around the clock to try to locate him and make sure he is safe.”
In 2022, 2,600 of the 5,800 Asian males reported missing were between the ages of 0 and 17, according to the FBI.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn