Three lost children from Nghe An province have been returned to their families.

The three children are Nguyen Cong Thao, 14 years old, son of Mr. Nguyen Cong Quy and Ms. Bui Thi Thuy, residing in Hamlet 7; and two brothers, Nguyen Van Luong, 10 years old, and Nguyen Van Thien, 7 years old, sons of Mr. Nguyen Van Ban and Ms. Truong Thi Hien, residing in Hamlet 2, Phuc Son commune (Anh Son district).

The children were taken to the Dien Ky Commune Police Station (Dien Chau). Photo: Van Anh

According to the children's accounts, on the morning of July 16th, they asked to go to their grandparents' house to play. Thao, riding her bicycle, met Luong and Thien and gave them both a ride.

While walking along the road, the three children encountered a stranger in a black pickup truck who asked for directions and requested a ride to his destination. Thao gave directions and said, "Just keep going," but the man didn't move; instead, he mumbled something. After a while, the three children lost consciousness. When they woke up, they found themselves in a car and didn't know where they were going.

Bicycles are the means of transportation the children use to continue their journey to Dien Chau district. Photo: Van Anh

When the suspect stopped to relieve himself, Thao saw a sign indicating Yen Thanh, Dien Chau and urged her two younger siblings to run away. The suspect chased after them but couldn't catch them, so he threw their bicycles onto the roadside (the bicycles had previously been loaded onto the back of a pickup truck). After waiting a while after the suspect left, the three children returned to retrieve their bicycles and ended up lost in Dien Chau district.

At noon on July 16th, the families of the children, after discovering their children were missing, reported the matter to the Anh Son District Police.

The police of Dien Chau district, Dien Ky commune, and other relevant agencies completed the procedures to return the children to their families. Photo: Van Anh

At 4:00 AM on July 17th, the Dien Ky Commune Police Station (Dien Chau District) received a report from residents exercising who saw three children, none of whom were local residents, lying in a roadside garage. Upon arriving at the scene, the police apprehended the youngest child, while the two older children, frightened, ran away. However, after being explained the situation, they returned and were taken to the commune police station for care.

Immediately afterwards, the Dien Ky commune police coordinated with the Dien Chau district police, Anh Son district police, the district's Culture Department, and the district's Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs Department to find the family members.

By 9 a.m. that same day, the families of the three children had gone to Dien Chau district to complete the procedures for reclaiming their children.