Twenty-four years ago, Guo Gangtang’s 2-year-old son was kidnapped by human traffickers in Shandong, China. Guo never stopped searching for him, biking hundreds of thousands of miles to display his picture across the vast country.

On Sunday, the search ended. Guo Xinzhen and his birth parents were reunited in a moving moment broadcast on Chinese television (watch above).

“My darling, my darling, my darling,” Guo’s wife, Zhang Wenge, sobbed. “We found you, my son, my son.”

https://twitter.com/StephenMcDonell/status/1414889872381390848

Police tracked down the long lost child thanks to DNA evidence. He was found in the same province where he was kidnapped more than two decades earlier. NPR provides more details:

Police experts found Guo Xinzhen in June by searching databases for images of people who looked like he might as an adult, according to a police ministry statement. His identity was confirmed by a DNA test.

The woman and her boyfriend, identified only by the surnames Tang and Hu, were caught and confessed to trafficking three boys, according to the ministry. They have yet to stand trial, but potential penalties range up to death.

The New York Times explains that Guo’s relentless search captured the nation’s attention.

The apparent happy ending captivated China, where Mr. Guo has become something of a folk hero. His cross-country odyssey, during which he said he was thrown from his bike at least once and slept outdoors when he could not afford a hotel, inspired the 2015 film “Lost and Love,” starring the renowned Hong Kong actor Andy Lau.

Guo reportedly traveled more than 310,000 miles during his search and he helped other families locate missing children.

“Thank you for participating in anti-trafficking activities for 24 years and helping more than 100 children return home,” the Chinese  police ministry said on its social media account.