PROVIDENCE, Utah, Sept. 1, 2016 (Gephardt Daily) — The parents of Brigham Young University student David Sneddon, who went missing in China 12 years ago, never gave up hope that their youngest son might be found alive.
Now there’s a small reason for Providence residents Roy and Kathleen Sneddon to be hopeful:
An article published by Yahoo Japan by Japan News Network states that according to sources it does not name, Sneddon is alive, has a wife and two children, and is teaching English in North Korea. It even mentions that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un may have been one of his pupils.
“News out of Yahoo Japan this evening!! Hopefully confirmation of what the Sneddon family has always either known or felt,” said an Aug. 30 post on the Bring David Louis Sneddon Home Facebook page.”
See the article in its original Japanese here. Or read the imperfect translation, by Google software, below:
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The Sneddons, of Providence, in Cache County, have believed all along that their son was kidnapped by North Korean agents due to his fluency in Korean, a valuable asset in a country trying to make its existence known to the larger world.
Sneddon had served a mission in South Korea for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Authorities in China told Roy Sneddon his son likely died while hiking in the Yunnan Province in western China, probably by falling into the Tiger Leaping Gorge.
Roy Sneddon and son James made a trip to that area of China in 2004, and talked with more than a dozen people who reported seeing David more than 70 miles beyond the Tiger Leaping Gorge leg of his trip.
In addition, the family has hope because no body was ever recovered in David’s case.
The Sneddons have done their best, over the years, to keep their son’s case in the news and to rally supporters to write letters to their lawmakers, asking for an investigation.
Earlier in 2016, members of Utah’s congressional delegation asked Washington lawmakers to investigate David Sneddon’s case, and try to determine if he had been abducted and taken to North Korea.
“The evidence indicates that there are still a lot of unanswered questions about David’s disappearance,” said Rep. Chris Stewart, R-Utah, a member of the U.S. House Intelligence Committee, in a statement.
“David’s family deserves answers to those questions, and until we find those answers, I will continue urging the State Department to pursue all possible explanations for David’s disappearance.”
The Sneddons said they’re grateful for progress in their son’s case after all these years, but they believe their son is likely just one of many who have been abducted and held captive in dictator-led North Korea.
