December 19, 2019, 10:22 AM
A mother and son in China were reunited 30 years after the latter went missing when he was three years old, The Beijing News reported.
Separated from family when he was three
Li Jian, now 33, went missing from his home at Changzhi in Shanxi province in 1989, his older sister said.
His family last saw him riding his tricycle by himself outside their home.
Image via The Beijing News
Li, whom his family called Jian Jian, was then taken home by his adoptive father after he was found at a police station.
He was renamed to the surname Chen.
However, his family never gave up searching for him, putting up as many missing-person posters as they could.
Image via The Beijing News
Years later, with the widespread popularity of video-sharing app TikTok, his sister even put up the missing-person notice on the platform in the hope that her brother would one day swipe to the video.
But for 30 long years, there was no news from him.
His sister said their father died 10 years ago from his heavy drinking as he blamed himself for his son's disappearance.
Before his passing, he urged his wife to not give up their search for Li.
The couple had another daughter after Li went missing.
DNA matches parents' DNA in database
Half a year ago in June, police from Changzhi city in Shanxi province discovered that his DNA matched his parents' DNA in the police database.
They then contacted the police in Henan province's Xiuwu county.
Grateful to adoptive parents
After Li and his biological mother were reunited, the family could not control their emotions and broke into tears.
Image via The Beijing News
His mother could also be heard repeatedly saying how they were worried sick when he went missing, and how hard they tried to look for him.
As for Li's adoptive parents, they were grateful to them as well for bringing him up and looking after him.
You can watch the video of the reunion here:
Top image adapted via The Beijing News
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