Police found him Sunday “alive but very cold and scared” at a makeshift campsite in the mountains near Brigham City, using Zhuang’s bank and phone records, the release said. Police said he was there on directions from his cyber-kidnappers to isolate himself.

Even kidnapping is online now wtf

I assume they were threatening to harm his family to get him to comply, which is wild because they use that to get him to isolate, then once he does threaten to harm him to his family.

Poor guy. Imagine being 16 or 17 in a very different country and culture, and then on top of that getting put under so much stress by scumbag scammers! I hope they catch the bastards.