Missing Foreign Exchange Student Found ‘Very Cold and Scared’ in Utah Mountains After Suspected 'Cyber Kidnapping'

Kai Zhuang's family in China allegedly paid a ransom of $80,000 due to the suspected "cyber-kidnapping" of the 17-year-old exchange student

A 17-year-old Chinese exchange student has been found safe after what appeared to be a cyber kidnapping attempt.

Kai Zhuang, an exchange student living in Riverdale, Utah, was reported missing by his high school on Thursday. Per CNN, the Riverdale Police Department believes the teen was a victim of “cyber-kidnapping."

His host family was reportedly unaware he was missing, as they told police he had slept in his bed on Wednesday night and they heard him in his room the next morning.

Zhuang was found in a tent in the mountains on Sunday, hours after police had begun to search for him. Authorities said he was “alive but very cold and scared” as he had “no heat source in the tent, only a heat blanket” as well as “limited food and water,” per the outlet.

He was allegedly a victim of a cyber kidnapping scheme that the FBI told police was happening across the U.S., where Chinese exchange students are targeted online and their families are threatened by the scammers, The Salt Lake Tribune reported.

His family received a ransom note along with a photo of Zhuang on Thursday, police said, that stated he had been kidnapped, prompting the family to pay $80,000 to the alleged kidnappers, per the outlet.

When he was found in the mountains on Sunday, police found several phones in the makeshift tent, which authorities believe he used to take the photos sent to his family in China, according to the Tribune.

He was cleared of any medical concerns on-site and made contact with his family, police told the outlet. Zhuang also “requested a warm cheeseburger,” which police picked up for him on the way to the Riverdale station.

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Zhuang had previously attempted to go camping in compliance with the alleged cyber-kidnappers on Dec. 20, but he was stopped by local police in Provo, Utah who returned him to his host family due to concerns for his safety, ABC News reported.

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