On July 31st, a netizen posted a missing persons notice stating that four boys had gone missing in Maliantan Village, Heqiao Town, Yongdeng County, Lanzhou City, Gansu province and have not returned home since. The incident has sparked concern.
The missing persons notice indicated that the four boys, aged 12-13 years old, went missing on July 25th. Comments from family members in the forum responded to netizens, stating that the four boys went missing together without their phones or identification cards. Relatives mentioned that dozens of people have been searching for them every day, checking places like internet cafes, but no information has emerged.
One of the boy’s relatives, Mr. Hu, told the Xiaoxiang Morning Post that the four missing boys are from the same village, with three having just graduated from primary school this year, and one already in the first year of junior high.
Mr. Hu further explained that according to the village’s closed-circuit television footage, around 10 a.m. on the 25th, the four boys left together. By around 7 p.m., when the parents noticed the boys hadn’t returned home for dinner, they began searching for them.
“One 70-year-old man said that around 5 p.m., one of the boys returned home to change his wet shoes, while the other three waited,” Mr. Hu said. “We feared the boys may have fallen into the river, so we searched in the river for over five days, and the rescue team also came, but we found nothing. We also searched in the mountains, but there has been no trace of them whatsoever.”
Describing what the boys were wearing when they left, Mr. Hu said they were dressed in white T-shirts, black pants, and white shoes; black and white striped T-shirts, shorts, and black and white basketball shoes; blue T-shirts, black pants, and mesh shoes; and black clothes, black pants, and black shoes.
Mr. Hu also mentioned, “Our four families have communicated, and the boys didn’t have any money on them, nor did they bring their identification cards, so they couldn’t have gone far.”
Upon discovering the boys had gone missing, the families immediately reported to the police that same evening. However, the local authorities stated that they have not located the boys.
On August 1st, official reports from the Chinese government revealed the identities of the missing boys as Yang (13 years old), Tian (13 years old), Hu (12 years old), and Qian (14 years old) from Maliantan Village. Currently, Hu’s family has identified a phone watch worn by Hu near the banks of Datong River. The report stated that the boys had agreed to go swimming at Datong River on the 25th but their whereabouts are still unknown, and search efforts are ongoing.
The news of the four missing children has sparked attention online. Some netizens expressed concerns about the nearby Datong River, mentioning the possibility of drowning due to deep pits when the water is low during sand mining operations.
Others shared skeptical views saying, “Don’t expect much help from the authorities, they won’t intervene in matters that don’t concern their interests.”
Many other netizens worried about various aspects such as the success of a hospital matching, questioning if anyone is investigating hospitals regarding missing persons. There were calls to cancel legalized organ transplants and reflections on recent cases in the area, highlighting the fear and unease among the public.
The community is hopeful for the safe return of the missing boys, with some hoping it was just a mischievous adventure and urging them to come back home soon.