- Utah police are searching for 17-year-old Chinese exchange student Kai Zhuang, who was “forcibly taken” from his home in Riverdale, north of Salt Lake City
- Zhuang's parents in China received photos proving she had been kidnapped, along with a ransom demand
- The circumstances of his disappearance and the relationship between Zhuang and the suspect remain unclear, with no information available on the suspects or his current whereabouts
A search is underway after a teenager from China was “forcibly” removed from his Utah home.
Utah Department of Public Safety officials said 17-year-old Kai Zhuang, who had been living in the state as part of a foreign exchange program with the Chinese in high school, was last seen around 3:30 a.m. Thursday.
On Friday evening, Riverdale police said they received a photo of the boy, along with a ransom demand.
During a news conference, Riverdale Police Chief Casey Warren said Zhuang's parents, who live in China, contacted his high school.
17-year-old Kai Zhuang, who was living in Utah as part of a high school foreign exchange program with the Chinese, was last seen around 3:30 a.m. Thursday morning.
During a news conference Friday, Riverdale Police Chief Casey Warren said Zhuang's parents, who live in China, had received photos of their son that “would indicate he had been kidnapped.” In addition, the parents said they had received a ransom
They told how they had received photos of their son that “suggested that he had been kidnapped.”
The parents also claim that they have received a ransom demand.
A Utah Endangered Missing Persons Advisory had previously been issued after the boy was “forcibly removed and held against his will” from the Riverdale home where he had been staying – about 30 minutes north of Salt Lake City.
But Warren says police now don't believe Zhuang was forcibly removed from the home.
His statement contradicted information shared during the initial missing persons advisory.
The host family with whom Zhuang had been staying told police that they had not noticed him missing and that they had last seen him the night before and may have heard him in the early morning hours.
Zhuang is described as being between 6 feet and 6 feet tall and weighing 150 pounds.
The Utah Department of Public Safety said the missing boy also had black hair and brown eyes.
Riverdale police did not have an accurate description of what the teen was last seen wearing, but he was known to be wearing a green jacket.
Officials have not provided many further details about the alleged kidnapping, nor have they said what led investigators to believe Zhuang was taken.
It is also still unclear whether the incident involved someone known to Zhuang or his host family.
No information has yet been provided about a possible suspect. It is also unknown whether the boy is still in the area.
Anyone with information about Zhuang or his whereabouts is asked to contact Riverdale police at 801-394-6616.