A mother in Jiangsu, China, spent 17 years searching for her daughter, only to find out in 2025 that her daughter had drowned in a river in 2008 after a dispute with her boyfriend, who forcibly held her and jumped into the water where she perished. The boyfriend later swam back to shore without attempting to rescue his girlfriend. After evading authorities for 17 years, the male suspect was finally captured in his hometown in Guizhou in December 2025, and the case has been transferred to the prosecutor’s office for review and indictment.
According to reports from the mainland Chinese media Yangtze Evening News, Ms. Xu’s younger daughter, Xiao Li, dropped out of junior high school in 2007 and went to work at a factory in Cangnan County, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, with her elder sister. During the Chinese New Year period in 2008, the family learned that she had a boyfriend named Liang. The day before Xiao Li went missing, she was seen carrying a box of paper stars, preparing to return them to Liang and break up with him, but she and her boyfriend subsequently disappeared together.
Due to the lack of family support for their relationship, Ms. Xu initially believed her daughter had eloped with her boyfriend.
Over the years, Ms. Xu and her husband searched everywhere to find their daughter, often going to Liang’s hometown in Guizhou to inquire about any information. In 2011, Ms. Xu managed to contact Liang’s sister and mother, but they claimed not to know where Liang had gone.
In November 2024, Ms. Xu’s DNA was collected by the police for storage. In April 2025, she received a notification from the authorities that her DNA was a possible match. Two months later, the police confirmed that her DNA matched that of an unidentified female corpse recovered from a river in Cangnan County, Wenzhou, in 2008. The police confirmed that the body was indeed Ms. Xu’s long-missing daughter. As the body had been cremated after recovery, the family could only confirm her identity through DNA testing.
The indictment revealed that in early 2008, both Liang and Xiao Li were 16 years old and working at the same factory where they developed a romantic relationship. In the lunar calendar month of February that year, while taking a walk by the river, Xiao Li suggested a breakup, leading to a confrontation. Liang forcibly held Xiao Li and jumped into the river with her. However, he choked on water, triggering survival instincts, and managed to swim back to shore himself. While Xiao Li struggled in the water, Liang made no attempt to rescue her, allowing her to drown before fleeing the scene.
In December 2025, Liang was apprehended by the police in his hometown in Guizhou. The prosecutor charged him with depriving another of life due to emotional dispute, alleging intentional homicide. As Liang was a minor at the time of the incident, the prosecutor intended to mitigate his punishment based on his truthful confession and voluntary admission of guilt after being apprehended. Liang’s family members were placed on bail pending trial for allegedly abetting a crime.
The date for the trial of this case has not yet been determined.