Man in China finds son snatched 24 years ago

Guo Gangtang spent all his savings to look for his son

Representative image: A child plays in the corridor of an apartment building in China’s Henan province on 29 September 2017 (AFP via Getty Images)

A Chinese man, who traveled more than 500,000 kilometres for 24 years to look for his son, inspiring a movie in the process, has finally been reunited with his child.

Guo Gangtang's son was abducted by human traffickers in 1997 in front of their home in China’s Shandong province. The child was just two years old at the time.

Police have arrested two suspects in the case. Chinese media reported that a man and a woman abducted the child 24 years ago with the intention of selling him for money.

The police made progress in the case in mid-June after it received clues about the whereabouts of the now 26-year-old man from Henan province and confirmed his identity after a DNA test, reports said.

Looking for his son since the kidnapping, 51-year-old Mr Guo traveled over 500,000 km on several motorbikes across the country and sustained multiple injuries, including broken bones in traffic accidents and even encountering highway robbers.

Ten motorcycles were damaged since he began his search. In 2010, Mr Guo told China Daily that he had more than 40 stitches on his head from accidents.

“If I had been playing with my son in our house instead of delivering goods outside, this would not have happened,” he said at the time.

According to Xinhua, before beginning his search, Mr Guo printed a banner with his son’s photo and a message that said: “Where are you, my son? Daddy will take you home”. He spent all his savings during the search and had to go hungry at times, the report said.

His travel across the country in search of his son inspired Lost and Love, a movie starring Hong Kong star Andy Lau that premiered in 2015.

On hearing the news that the father and son have finally been reunited, Lau sent his congratulations. “I admire your persistence and pay tribute to the years-long efforts of the public security department,” he was quoted as saying by Global Times.

The Global Times report said Chinese social media users are urging for a sequel to be made of Lost and Love to incorporate the happy ending.