Peng Yuxuan, a 19-year-old recent high school graduate from Hanzhong City, Shaanxi Province, planned to visit his girlfriend in Xi'an and work a summer job after submitting his college entrance exam applications. Unexpectedly, he went missing a few days later. His WeChat location history showed that he appeared in places like Kunming and Pu'er in Yunnan, and he is suspected to have crossed the border into Myanmar. His family has urgently sought help from the police and various agencies.
Ms. Yang, Peng Yuxuan's mother, recalled that after submitting the college applications on June 28, her son said he wanted to visit his girlfriend in Xi'an, which did not raise any suspicions. Two days later, he mentioned on WeChat that he was looking for a summer job, and on July 2, he claimed to have found work at a hotpot restaurant. However, the chat records revealed several anomalies: Peng Yuxuan mentioned "being on the road" multiple times and initially said a "aunt" helped arrange the job, but later changed his story to having met someone online.
Shockingly, he explicitly mentioned in WeChat, "I have arrived in Myanmar," and his phone's location also showed him gradually approaching the Yunnan border. Subsequently, the family received several calls from people claiming they could "retrieve him," all demanding a high ransom. Ms. Yang, worried about being scammed again, was hesitant to believe them.
Currently, police from Hanzhong and Yunnan are involved in the investigation, initially suspecting that Peng Yuxuan might have been lured to Southeast Asia for illegal activities. It has been reported that this year, several Chinese teenagers have been deceived by offers of "high-paying summer jobs" or "summer internships," ending up in scam centers in Myanmar and Laos, where they are forced into committing fraud and even face threats of violence.
Ms. Yang calls for public attention to such incidents and reminds parents and students to be highly cautious of overseas recruitment traps, not to trust strangers online, and not to travel to unfamiliar places for work. Peng Yuxuan's whereabouts are still not fully confirmed, and the search and rescue efforts are ongoing. The family hopes that anyone with information will come forward to help him return home safely.
