Kai Zhuang: Missing Chinese exchange student found alive inside a tent in Utah in 'cyber kidnapping' case

PROVO, UTAH: A teenage Chinese exchange student has been found safe and alive in what seemed to be a cyber kidnapping attempt. Kai Zhuang, 17, an exchange student living in Riverdale, Utah, was reported missing by his high school on Thursday, December 28.

According to CNN, the Riverdale Police Department believes the student was a victim of “cyber-kidnapping." His host family was reportedly unaware he was missing as they told police he had slept in his bed on Wednesday night, December 29, and they heard him in his room the next morning. Police said there was no evidence that he had been forcefully taken from the home.

Kai Zhuang was found inside a tent

On Sunday, December 31, hours after police had begun to search for Zhuang, the teenager was found in a tent in the mountains. Authorities said he was “alive but very cold and scared” as he had “no heat source in the tent, only a heat blanket” as well as “limited food and water,” per the outlet. 

He was allegedly a victim of a cyber kidnapping scheme that the FBI told police was happening across the country where Chinese exchange students are targeted online and their families are threatened by the scammers, The Salt Lake Tribune reported.

Kai Zhuang's family received a ransom note 

The victim's family received a ransom note along with a photo of Zhuang on Thursday, December 28, police said, that stated he had been kidnapped, prompting the family to pay $80,000 to the alleged kidnappers, per the outlet.

When he was found in the mountains on Sunday, December 31, police found several phones in the makeshift tent which the authorities believe he used to take the photos sent to his family in China, according to the Tribune.

He was cleared of any medical concerns on-site and made contact with his family, police told the outlet. Zhuang also “requested a warm cheeseburger,” which police picked up for him on the way to the Riverdale station.

Kai Zhuang had previously attempted to go camping

Zhuang had previously attempted to go camping in compliance with the alleged cyber-kidnappers on December 20, but he was stopped by local police in Provo, Utah, who returned him to his host family due to concerns for his safety, ABC News reported.

Riverdale Police said Sunday, December 31, that Zhuang was already being “manipulated and controlled by the cyber kidnappers” then but had not told anyone. The authorities worked with the FBI, the US embassy in China and Chinese officials to find Zhuang.