This is the bitter-sweet moment a family reunites with their long-lost son who had been abducted over 25 years ago after AI tools helped them find each other.
Xie Qingshuai was kidnapped in January 1999 while he was home alone in Xingtai, in northern China, for a short time while his mother went shopping.
His family, heartbroken by his disappearance, spent many years searching for him.
They started in Xingtai, expanded to nearby provinces, and eventually searched across the entire country.
In 2022, their story gained attention when they announced a reward of 200,000 (GBP 22,300) for any helpful information about their son. They then offered CNY 1 million (GBP 111,600) for finding him.
Finally, after more than 25 years, with the assistance of AI facial-recognition technology from Beijing-based company Deepglint, local police in Hebei successfully found Xie Qingshuai on 27th November.
The family were then happily reunited after all these decades spent apart.
Xie Kefeng, the father, was able to embrace his now 25-year-old son, who had been living in the city of Chengdu.
Phone footage shows the trio finally meeting at a conference room as the couple’s lost son walked in holding a bouquet of flowers.
The three then ran into each other’s arms and began crying tears of joy and relief.
According to Xie’s daughter, since the abduction of their brother many years ago, their father and mother had been living in anxiety and self-blame, searching for their brother’s traces near their home every day.
After returning home, they could not lead a normal life, often relying on medication to barely fall asleep. This kind of life continued for nearly 20 years.
Xie told local media: “I have been waiting for this day for 25 years.”
It was not revealed how he was kidnapped, who the family were that ended up adopting him, and whether any legal charges are pending.
