Facing her long-lost daughter after more than half a year, Zhou Saifei Long couldn't help but feel a mix of sorrow and joy. Southern Daily reporter Luli captured this emotional reunion at Shenzhen Airport amidst the biting cold air that once again swept through Shenzhen last night.
Half a year ago, the Gansu-native girl, Zhou Zuliha, was abducted and has now been reunited with her parents just in time for the Lantern Festival. The Shenzhen police announced that on February 16th, officers conducting blood sample comparisons at the Shenzhen Shelter discovered the missing girl and promptly informed her family to come to Shenzhen for a reunion.
Yesterday afternoon, inside the office building of the Shenzhen Public Security Bureau's Criminal Investigation Division, I met the 11-year-old girl, Zhou Zuliha. Just a day before, she had been taken out of the Shenzhen Shelter by the police due to a match found in the national DNA database for missing and abducted children. Despite her lack of shyness in front of reporters, clutching onto her cherished gifts, she repeatedly expressed her longing for her mother.
The investigating officer mentioned that Zhou Zuliha has poor eyesight and also faces some challenges in verbal expression. Although it was difficult for the shelter staff to communicate with her, during the six months she spent there, she received careful care. Volunteers not only taught her simple Mandarin but also bought her gifts. However, no one knows how she was abducted.
Since the New Year, Shenzhen police have intensified their efforts to locate abducted and missing children, collecting information and samples from children in welfare institutions, shelters, as well as those seen begging or selling flowers on the streets. These samples are then entered into the national DNA database for missing and abducted children for comparison. On the afternoon of February 16th, the DNA testing officer identified a match between an unnamed girl at the Shenzhen Shelter and a missing child from a human trafficking case handled by Zhongshan police.
That evening, with the strong support of the QingShuiHe Police Station under the Luohu Branch, the investigation team visited the Shenzhen Shelter and found that the girl had been brought there around 4 PM on June 13, 2010, by a middle-aged man near Nantou Street in Nanshan District. She had no name, and everyone at the shelter called her "Curly Hair," noting her speech difficulties.
At 3 AM on February 17th, after another round of verification, the DNA Testing Department confirmed the initial results. The Criminal Investigation Division immediately contacted the Zhongshan police to inform them of the situation. The Zhongshan police quickly reached out to the girl’s parents and sent officers to Shenzhen to handle the matter.
Upon investigation, it was found that the girl is named Zhou Zuliha, born in March 2000, of Dongxiang ethnicity, and originally from Dongxiang County in Gansu Province. More than half a year ago, her father, Zhou Saifei Long, reported her disappearance at the BaiShi Police Station under the Sanxiang Branch of the Zhongshan Public Security Bureau, stating that his daughter, Zhou Zuliha, went missing at the entrance of a noodle shop in XiaChong ZhiHe Business Area in BaiShi Village, Sanxiang Town, Zhongshan City, on the morning of June 13, 2010. Despite extensive searches, no leads were found. Her father mentioned that his daughter had difficulty expressing herself verbally. The Zhongshan police subsequently issued an assistance bulletin and launched an investigation.
When informed by the police that their daughter had been found, Zhou Zuliha's parents were in Tianjin. Last night, they flew from Tianjin to Shenzhen, reuniting with their daughter on the eve of the Lantern Festival.
The Shenzhen police stated that after completing the relevant procedures, Zhou Zuliha will return home to start a new life, while the investigation of related cases will be handed over to the Zhongshan police.
"Really found her, she's fine!"
■ Scene
At 8:12 PM last night, the flight from Tianjin landed safely in Shenzhen. After 249 days of relentless searching, Mr. and Mrs. Zhou Saifei finally saw their biological daughter.
"That's her! That's her! No mistake, it's her!" In the waiting hall of Shenzhen Airport, spotting the familiar face from afar, Zhou Saifei, this 41-year-old northwestern man, could not contain his excitement. He rushed forward and embraced his daughter, repeatedly thanking the police officers, the shelter workers, and all the kind-hearted people who helped. His wife quickly picked up the phone to tell their grandmother back home the good news: "We've found her, yes, really found her, she's fine!"
Despite her visual impairment and communication difficulties, the 11-year-old Zhou Zuliha could still read the longing on her parents' faces. She affectionately kissed her mother, deeply moving all the onlookers present.
In search of their daughter, the couple traveled to every city in Guangdong, but without any leads. During this time, upon hearing that the Fujian police had found over 20 abducted children, they hurriedly made their way to Fujian.
Over the course of more than half a year, the couple searched across half of China. Every time they heard news of a missing child being found somewhere, they would rush there immediately. At the beginning of this year, they heard rumors that their daughter might have been sold to Tianjin, so they hastily headed there. Even after exhausting their savings with no sign of their daughter, they decided to stay in Tianjin and work to continue their search.
After leaving Shenzhen Airport, accompanied by the police, the couple headed to Zhongshan to complete the necessary procedures, marking the start of a new chapter for their family.