Reportedly, the loss of the boy was such a shock to his father that his weight dropped from 80kg to 60kg and his hair turned all white in the first month after his son's abduction.
His son was taken from his yard where he was playing alone on September 21, 1997. For the next 24 years, his father rode a motorcycle all over China looking for his son.
According to a story in the South China Morning Post, Guo, now 51, has handed out countless fliers since 1997. He flew a flag on the back of his motorcycle with his son’s picture on it. He begged for money and slept under bridges. He broke bones in traffic crashes, faced highway robbers and wore out 10 motorcycles.
Despite his efforts, months turned to years, years stretched into a decade, and then that decade became two. At one point, Guo considered suicide. But he never stopped looking.
The father said of his pilgrimage, "Only on the road, I felt I am a father, I have no reason to stop [searching]. And it is impossible for me to stop."
Now the search is finally over. On Sunday, Guo and his wife were reunited with their son, Guo Xinzhen, who’s now is in his mid-20s. As cameras rolled, the long-suffering parents buried their heads into the young man’s shoulder and wailed as they saw him for the first time in 24 years.
Of course, the story left me with more questions than answers. From the limited information gleaned from the press, I couldn’t help but wonder about the impact of the loss on the entire family. In reality, it sounds as though the mother lost not only her son, but her husband as well.
Maybe the line "and they lived happily ever after" can finally come true for this family, but I suspect it will not be without challenges. The good news is that a family divided has now be reunited.
I will never forget the impact that my brother's status of Missing In Action had on my parents. Of course, my brother was not a child. Yet, I watched as the two of them figuratively aged overnight. They supported on another and were surrounded with support from family members and friends.
I can't begin to image the weight of the pain that the Guo Gangstang family of a 2 1/2 year old experienced as the days turned into weeks, the weeks turned into months and the months turned into years. Thankfully, the search is finally over and the family is reunited.
All My Best!
Don