The parents who managed to hug their son after 32 years: he was kidnapped and sold as a child
The most terrible thing that can happen to a parent is to lose their child prematurely. The second biggest fear is that they go missing, or that someone could take them away from you. In some cases it is difficult to say what the most distressing event would be.
We cannot say if it is worse to have to accept something irreversible, which however can grant the peace of being resigned. Or to nourish hope, but always living in anguish and nostalgia.
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Fortunately, today's story has a happy ending. In 1988 Mao Yin, the son of Li Jingzhi and Mao Zhenjing, was kidnapped while the family was staying in a hotel. For over three decades the couple kept looking for him without ever giving up.
The woman was forced to quit her job to devote herself to the investigation full-time. Over time she distributed more than 100 thousand flyers and followed more than 300 possible leads, unfortunately without result.
She also participated in several broadcasts and talk shows to make television appeals. From their region of origin, that of Xian, in central China, the two gradually widened the research radius to a national and international level.
32 years of silence have passed, but then on May 9, 2020, on Mother's Day, Li received the most beautiful gift she could have wished for. Police learned that about 1000 km from Xian in the south west of the country, a man had adopted a child many years earlier. From the information there was a good chance that it could be Mao.
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After the results of digital facial processing and a DNA test, finally the confirmation: it was really him. The child had been sold to a childless couple for 6 million yuan, just over 700 euros. He had been given the name of Gu Ningning.
Eventually Mao Zhenjing and Li Jingzhi managed to hold their son again. Today Mao / Gu is 34 years old and runs a home decoration business. The man has expressed his desire to go and live close to his biological parents and does not want to be parted from them anymore.
Since 2007 Li has been part of the Baby Come Back Home organization. It is an organisation supported by volunteers, committed to finding missing children. She helped 29 families find their children, while hers was still missing. All the while her faith and strength never wavered. Despite the suffering she never stopped helping others. Now it's her turn to be happy again.
