Chinese man reunited with family 19 years after being abducted

Two men abducted the then 11-month-old boy from the city of Handan in August 1998

SHIJIAZHUANG, CHINA: A 20-year-old man was reunited with his family on Tuesday, after being abducted as a toddler in north China's Hebei Province 19 years ago.

Two men abducted the then 11-month-old boy in Cixian County in the city of Handan in August 1998, according to local police.

Police launched an investigation but were unsuccessful in finding the child. The search for suspects was complicated as they were believed to be migrant workers and a large number of people from other provinces worked at coal mines in the county at that time. The missing boy's parents were also migrants from southwest China's Sichuan Province.

Under instructions from the Ministry of Public Security, local police relaunched an investigation in February this year. They later arrested four suspects.

After receiving confessions from the suspects, police found the missing man in the city of Liaocheng in neighboring Shandong Province on September 24 and DNA testing confirmed his identity on October 6.