Family Heartbroken After Man Goes Missing, Receive A Call Years Later
Their Missing Son
When she answered the call, she had never expected to hear the voice on the other end. Her jaw dropped, and she signaled for her husband to come closer.
She was not expecting them to mention her son let alone that he was in North Korea. They hadn’t seen their son, David, for the past seven years. He had gone missing.
Love For Other Cultures
David Sneddon was a Brigham Young University student who dreamt of living an adventure-filled life. As much as he loved his home in America, he was fascinated with learning about other cultures. In 2004, he had the opportunity to visit the east of China.
He recalled his experience of traveling to South Korea and thought he had experienced enough to make it through his next trip. But he couldn’t have been more wrong.
Southeast China
David’s father, Roy, shared with The Washington Post that his son had finished his coursework. “He wanted to celebrate by touring in southeast China before he returned home.”
But what happened to David on his trip became such a puzzling mystery that even the highest government officials couldn’t unravel it.
A Sinister Joke
David often corresponded via email and told his parents that he would use the three weeks to travel before returning home.
He thought a brisk journey through southern China would suffice for some “hard-core traveling.”
He continued in the email and joked that they should look for his body in the western Yunnan Province of China or the Yellow Mountains of Anhui if they never heard from him again.
They breathed a sigh of relief when he said he was joking and “really so excited.” But his joke would soon not be taken so lightly.
The Li River
It was the 5th of August, on a Thursday, when David and his roommate, George Bailey, decided to go hiking. There was a backpacker town along the Li River which they hiked and biked through.
They enjoyed the weekend together but would soon move in different directions. George was meeting friends in the northern region, and David was heading to Yunnan in the west.