In the picture: The kidnappers were caught. Photo by reporter Zhu Jie. In the picture: The exterior of the cave. By reporter Zhu Jie, and correspondents Chen Deshun and Zhang Xingjiang.
On his way home from school, 14-year-old Xiao Gang (a pseudonym) was kidnapped, and the kidnappers demanded a ransom of 20,000 yuan from his family.
After receiving the report, the Nanzhang police acted swiftly. At around 1:00 AM yesterday morning, 26 hours after the incident, the police successfully rescued the hostage, and five suspects involved in the case were arrested.
The kidnappers demanded 20,000 yuan.
"At about 10 PM on the evening of April 4th, while working in Guangdong, Ms. Xiong suddenly received a strange phone call," said a source. "Your son is in our hands, quickly prepare 20,000 yuan, otherwise his life will be in danger." When she came to her senses and tried to ask more questions, the caller had already hung up.
Ms. Xiong's home is in Liuhou Town, Yicheng City. Her son, Xiao Gang, is 14 years old. Both parents work outside their hometown, so Xiao Gang was sent to Jinmiao Middle School in Guancheng, Nanzhang County, living with his uncle in Nanzhang.
Ms. Xiong hurriedly contacted her brother. Her brother went to the school as she requested, but Xiao Gang was already missing. "Xiao Gang is gone!" The whole family immediately panicked, realizing that Xiao Gang might have been kidnapped.
At dawn on April 5th, after failing to find Xiao Gang, Ms. Xiong reported the case to the Nanzhang County Public Security Bureau.
The kidnappers dug a cave to hide the hostage.
After the special task force led by Director Liu Jingsheng of the Nanzhang County Public Security Bureau was established, investigation work began immediately.
Through interviews and investigations, the team analyzed that the incident should have occurred at around 8:00 PM on April 4th, which was exactly the time when junior high school students finish their evening study sessions and go home. Through screening, seven suspects came into the police’s line of sight. After one-by-one screening, three of them were preliminarily determined to be related to the kidnappers.
At noon on April 5th, these three people were controlled in a hotel in Guancheng Town. After interrogation, they confessed that Xiao Gang was hidden in a cave near Guancheng Town, but they did not know the exact location. Their accomplices, Gou Mou and Chen Mou, had taken turns guarding him in the cave, and only they knew the exact location.
At around 10:00 PM on April 5th, Gou Mou was captured.
According to Gou Mou's confession, a few days before the incident, he and four others discussed kidnapping someone to get some money. Subsequently, the five of them brought shovels and dug a cave on Wudan Mountain in Jiujizhen Town to prepare for hiding the hostage. On the evening of April 4th, Chen Mou and Gou Mou looked for a target in the Guancheng Industrial Park. They encountered Xiao Gang returning home after evening study, grabbed him, covered his eyes, dragged him onto a motorcycle, and took him to the cave they had dug earlier. They handcuffed Xiao Gang and then called his parents.
Afterward, Chen Mou and Gou Mou were responsible for guarding him in the cave, while the other three took turns delivering food up the mountain.
The police launched a rescue operation in the dead of night.
Time passed minute by minute, and the hostage's family far away in Guangdong had already received three calls demanding payment.
After Gou Mou was captured, only Chen Mou remained in the cave. If too much time passed, it would inevitably raise Chen Mou's suspicions. Had Xiao Gang encountered any mishaps? The hearts of the rescuers rose to their throats.
At around 11:30 PM on April 5th, after patient persuasion, Gou Mou finally agreed to lead the police to the hiding place.
Rescue immediately! After Director Liu Jingxing gave the order, the rescue operation quickly unfolded. The rescue team split into two groups: one led by experienced negotiators guiding the hostage's family to try to delay time as much as possible; the other consisting of a rescue squad going up the mountain to save the hostage.
At around 1:00 AM on April 6th, more than 20 police officers quietly approached Wudan Mountain under the cover of darkness.
Yesterday, Officer Zhang Wei, who entered the cave to rescue Xiao Gang, told reporters that the terrain in the mountains was complex, and entering the cave required passing through a narrow passage over 100 meters long. To avoid alarming the kidnappers, the rescuing officers went barefoot and slowly made their way inside.
Upon entering the cave, Zhang Wei, who was leading the way, used a powerful flashlight and immediately spotted Xiao Gang. At that moment, Xiao Gang was lying on the ground, his hands handcuffed behind his back, and his face pale. Chen Mou suddenly woke up, instinctively picked up a dagger, but was quickly subdued by the police.
Xiao Gang was safely escorted to the cave entrance, and the scene erupted in cheers among the police officers.
The hostage was trembling all over when he was rescued.
From the time of the incident to being rescued, the Nanzhang police only spent 26 hours. For 14-year-old Xiao Gang, life and death hung in the balance during those 26 hours.
Yesterday afternoon, when I visited the Wudan Mountain cave in Jiuzitown, I found that the cave originally was an irrigation channel. The long narrow passage exuded a chilling coldness.
The cave was about two meters long and one meter wide, with both ends blocked by soil. The cave entrance was covered by a curtain, allowing only one person to pass through.
After Xiao Gang was rescued, the police discovered knives, electric batons, machetes, and other weapons inside the cave. One participating officer said that in such a confined space, if the hostage resisted even slightly, they might have been beaten or even met with misfortune. Xiao Gang had no obvious external injuries, indicating that he remained relatively calm at the time.
During those 26 hours inside the cave, Xiao Gang must have been filled with fear.
Law enforcement officers stated that after being rescued, Xiao Gang appeared very exhausted, shaking all over, and his eyes filled with terror.
Yesterday morning, Xiao Gang's parents specifically returned from Guangdong to Nanzhang. I wanted to interview Xiao Gang, but his family politely declined.
Last night, Xiao Gang's uncle told me that Xiao Gang's mental state had improved significantly.
The youngest of the kidnappers was only 16 years old.
According to the police, the five suspects involved in the kidnapping were all born in the 1980s, with the youngest being only 16 years old.
Yesterday afternoon, at the Criminal Investigation Brigade of the Nanzhang County Public Security Bureau, the 16-year-old Gou Mou looked bewildered. When talking about the crime, he seemed unusually calm.
Gou Mou said that both of his parents worked locally. He dropped out of school after attending for several years and started hanging out with some idle people. His involvement in the kidnapping was at the instigation of Chen Mou, but he had only known Chen Mou for three days. "I just wanted to get some money to spend, without considering the consequences." As Gou Mou looked up, tears streamed down his face.