DNA match leads family to long-lost son in jail

After years of abuse and serving stints in jail, a long-lost son was reunited with his parents 24 years after he was abducted outside their home thanks to a DNA database match.

The happy reunion took place on Thursday in Hangzhou, where Zhang Jie had been released after serving his latest sentence for theft.

Their first meeting, however, took place in June when father Zhang Jun and mother Wang Huaqun, now living in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, visited Qiaosi Jail after police informed them of a DNA match.

Despite 24 years, they both immediately recognized their son. “He has a scar on forehead that he got when he was two years old,” said Zhang Jun.

Little did they know that only around one year later, Zhang Jie would be snatched from outside their store in Yunnan Province.

Zhang Jie told of years of abuse at the hands of his adopted father. When his parents passed away years ago, family members refused to take him in. He was left to fend for himself at a young age. He soon turned to crime, and served four jail terms in six years.

Zhang Jun and Wang Huaqun never gave up hope. In 2015, the couple gave samples to a national DNA database in the hopes it would someday lead to a match. Three years later, it did.

Following their reunion, Zhang Jie’s parents held a banquet at their home in Chengdu celebrating his return. Zhang Jie said he hopes to turn his life around and learn a vocation.