TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A child missing for 12 years has finally been found as an adult trapped in her mother's apartment in Kaohsiung for over a decade.
After having been missing for 12 years, police were finally able to locate the 23-year-old woman surnamed Hsieh (謝) based on recent purchases by her mother, surnamed Lin (林). They were then able to reunite her with her father.
As she was found to be malnourished and had been kept out of school, the Kaohsiung City Social Affairs Bureau will assist in applying for her health insurance and administering medical examinations. Meanwhile, the city's Department of Education will provide remedial education.
In 2008, Lin's ex-husband, also surnamed Hsieh, was awarded full custody of their daughter by a court after divorcing. However, Lin refused to accept the court's decision and took advantage of a child visitation when the girl was 11 to abduct her and take her from her home in Changhua to a location in Kaohsiung, reported CNA.
When Lin and her daughter went missing, her father alerted Changhua police and tried desperately to find her. Twelve years later on Dec. 7, Changhua police were finally able to track down Lin based on a purchase she had recently made at a store in Kaohsiung.
When police found Hsieh, she was underweight for her age at between 30 to 40 kilograms and appeared to suffer from social behavior disorders due to extreme, prolonged isolation. Neighbors said they saw Lin coming and going from the building, with Hsieh occasionally accompanying her but never stepping out on her own, reported Liberty Times.
The same day she was found, police transported Hsieh to Changhua to be reunited with her father. However, because she said that she missed her mother and did not want to live with her father, he agreed to allow her to live with her mother and she was taken back to Kaohsiung on Dec. 8, reported UDN.
Hsieh's father cherished the opportunity to finally see his daughter again and vowed that he would care for her and slowly try to rekindle the connection with her. He said that during his years of searching, he frequently contacted Lin's relatives for clues.
He said Lin's 68-year-old mother, who has had colon cancer for over 10 years, was overjoyed to hear that Lin and Hsieh had finally been found, reported Apple Daily. After police questioned Lin, they handed her over to the Changhua District Prosecutor's Office to be investigated for child abduction (略誘罪).
Hsieh is not pressing charges, but prosecutors have placed Lin in "restricted residence" as they investigate her for child abduction.
