17-year-old Chinese student Kai Zhuang was found “very frightened and suffering from hypothermia” but alive in a tent in a rural area of Utah, US, where he was taking part in an exchange after his parents had been blackmailed for 80 years were thousands of dollars for what was defined as “cyber kidnapping,” a practice that affects foreign students in the United States and that consists of convincing young people to isolate themselves and take selfies as if they were prisoners. The victims are then monitored remotely via Facetime or Skype and, along with their families, are convinced that they will be hit if a ransom is not paid.
The kidnappers reportedly began keeping an eye on Kai as early as December 20, when he was spotted by police officers wearing camping gear in Provo, Utah.
Officers had unsuccessfully suggested he be returned to his family in Riversale, where he lived. On December 28, the school he attended called the police, alerted by parents in China who had received a ransom note. His son, it was said, had been kidnapped. The site of his abduction was just 25 miles from Riversdale. There was no heating in his tent and he only had limited amounts of food and water. A sleeping bag and several phones that the kidnappers used to keep him under control. After his release, Kai asked for a hot cheeseburger and to talk to his family.