[imagesource: China Daily]

In 1997, two-year-old Guo Xinzhen was abducted in eastern China.

In 2015, a Chinese-Hong Kong drama film called Lost and Love was inspired by the kidnapping, including the seemingly never-ending nationwide search by his parents.

Now, 24 years after his disappearance, Guo has been reunited with his parents. That’s him in the green shirt above, very much an adult now.

Per CNN, Guo was found living in the neighbouring Henan province, according to police in Liaocheng City, Shandong province:

Police detained a suspected child trafficker identified only as Hu, and his ex-girlfriend identified as Tang, according to the police’s social media post.

The two confessed after interrogation, saying Tang had abducted Guo Xinzhen in 1997. She then met up with Hu, and the then-couple took a bus back to Henan, where they sold the child.

The case was never closed and the investigation spanned the whole 24 years that Gua was missing:

Guo had been abducted near his home by an unfamiliar woman, his parents told police in 1997.

Authorities collected blood, DNA samples and other evidence — but with limited technology at the time, the case remained unsolved, the police said on their official social media account on Tuesday.

His father, Guo Gangtang, refused to give up, racking up debt and tracking his son across the whole of China on 10 different motorbikes.

He covered around 500 000 kilometres, carrying with him nothing but a bag full of fliers, and a picture of his son on a flag.

That 2015 movie trailer helped the search gain more attention:

But the real onion-cutting footage has to be that of the reunion on Sunday, with the family in tears and tight embraces, crying, “We found you, you’ve come back.”

South China Morning Post has that and more:

While Guo’s father searched for his son, he also managed to track down more than 100 other abducted children and reunite them with their families along the way.

Finally, he can take a break.

The details of what exactly happened to him during those 24 years have not been revealed, though.

[source:cnn]