Sneddon, David Aug. 14, 2004, Shangri-La 24 YO

[PorchlightEast]

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/7053480...d-in-China.html

PROVIDENCE, Cache County — The Sneddons still remember the first thing American officials told them when they learned their son, David, was missing.

"You cannot lose an American in China," mother Kathleen Sneddon recounts. "I will never forget hearing that from the embassy."

That was five years ago.

And David Sneddon is still lost.

Missing

"We have not given up," Kathleen says. "We're never giving up on it. The case is in our minds constantly."

David was 24 when he went to China the summer before his senior year at BYU. He spent the summer improving his Mandarin Chinese in Beijing and touring the Yunnan Province.

But when he missed a flight to Seoul for an important business meeting and then missed his flight back to the United States, his family knew something was wrong.

Two weeks later, David's father, Roy, and David's older brothers, Michael and James, were in China retracing David's steps and talking with local police.

"We think he was picked up," Roy Sneddon said. "I don't think there's a question about that."

After several visits over as many years, the family has tracked David's steps through Tiger Leaping Gorge, then on to Shangri-La, where he was last seen around noon on Aug. 14, 2004.
"It's literally like he vanished," James Sneddon says. "There have been no sightings of him. … No money has been taken from his bank account. His passport hasn't crossed the border of China since he first went in five years ago. He's gone. A grown man disappeared."

Theories

"If something physical happened to him, an accident, he would have been found," James says. "We believe he's still alive, and I know there's a large number of people who think that's laughable. Whatever. That's their prerogative. If I hadn't experienced the things we experienced, I would have significant doubt, too."

The Sneddon men hiked along the "High Trail" through Tiger Leaping Gorge, where they ruled out the possibility that David fell off the trail into the river or even into a deep thicket where he couldn't be found.

The trail is too populated, and the river is too far away.

Besides, David was an Eagle Scout and an experienced hiker. He had been on more dangerous terrain in Wyoming.

Both on the gorge trail and then along the road to Shangri-La, and in Shangri-La, formerly called Zhongdian, the Sneddons met guides and shop owners who recognized David's picture on the placards the Sneddons wore around their necks.

From Shangri-La, David should have boarded a bus to go back to a youth hostel at the beginning of the gorge trail to get his backpack. He never did.
The Sneddons now have that backpack, which held David's set of LDS scriptures, as well as his airline tickets, but there's still no sign of the smaller fanny pack David wore while hiking or of his passport or clothes.

"Not to be gruesome, (but) there's no body, no reason to think that he's died or been killed," Kathleen says.

There's also no reason to think David ran off with a Chinese woman or went "underground," his family says. That just wasn't David's style as a devout member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and a student with extensive plans.

Kathleen, who has also been to China to look for her son, wonders if someone believed David was part of the underground railroad, an escape route for North Koreans through China. The Yunnan province is a prime escape area, because it borders Laos, Vietnam and Burma, and it's the area where David was last seen.

That theory makes a lot of sense, Michael Sneddon says.

David had served as an LDS missionary in South Korea and then worked in South Korea for his brother Michael's language translation company, MultiLing.

While in Beijing that fateful summer, David taught Korean to the children of a Chinese couple.

Then, David's former mission companion, who had been studying displaced North Koreans in China, requested a visa to go visit North Korea.

Story continues below
After his request was denied, he was told to leave China. He stayed with David for five days before he could get a flight back home to the United States, Michael says.

Then there's the Korean cafe where David spoke to the owner in Korean — the last place he visited before he was supposed to leave Shangri-La.

"David fits the profile of the South Korean Christians who help defecting North Koreans travel through China via the underground railroad," Michael says.

Besides, it would have been almost impossible for David's presence not to have raised questions.

He's a Westerner, traveling on his own, speaking fluent Mandarin Chinese and Korean. That's the stuff spies are made of.

"It's very plausible that some internal security group grabbed him because they were worried about or suspected something," James says. "We think they probably decided at some point that there was nothing there, but then how do you divulge that? Do you release him and say, 'Oops, we made a mistake,' a year later, six months later? It's probably better just to not say anything at all."

Emotions

"There's times I reflect," Kathleen says, "that it would almost be better if he were dead rather than in prison or hurt and starving."

She's even worried about his teeth.
David had braces on when he left, and Kathleen's nephew, a dentist, told her that unless he found a way to get them off, his teeth will be rotted.

A deeply religious family, the Sneddons find strength through prayer.

"I can tell you 25 children under the age of 10 who have never even known David — cousins, nieces and nephews — (and) they tell me, 'Every night I remember David in my prayers,' " Kathleen says, her voice breaking.

Michael said his 7-year-old son, Joshua, recently offered an explanation as to why their prayers hadn't brought David back.

"Maybe God wants him to preach the gospel in China, so that is why he's not home," Michael recounted.

"Part of our test here in this mortal sphere is to accept the will of the Lord," Michael continued. "Learning to accept his will in all things is something I strive earnestly to do better."

Even complete strangers haven't forgotten the family's struggle.

"I'm amazed at how many people I hardly know hear my name and say, 'Yes, I remember you. You lost a son in China. Are you still looking for him?' " Kathleen says.

The answer is always yes.

The Sneddon men are confident they will see David again, but that doesn't stop James from worrying about his mom.

Story continues below
"It's just too hard for a mother to wonder where a child is," he says. "If they're dead, well, they're dead. You know that. And depending on what your beliefs are regarding death and the afterlife, you can use that. But when you don't have any idea … the wonderment is sometimes what kills you the most."

Keeping up hope

Although it's hard to find someone who can relate with their situation, Kathleen says the Smarts are her role models.

Elizabeth Smart, then 14, was abducted from her Salt Lake City home in 2002 and held captive for nine months before she was found.

"It was the Smarts' persistence. … They're the ones who kept working, got the information out that finally helped their daughter come home," Kathleen says. "The difference is … they did it here in America. And we can't do that in China."

Kathleen also followed the case of missing BYU sophomore Brooke Wilberger, who was kidnapped in Oregon in 2004. Her captor, Joel Courtney, recently confessed to her murder and led police to her body.

"I'm so happy for the Wilbergers to have a resolution," she says. "I'm genuinely happy for the Smarts. But it is still difficult for me to deal with it."

That's just her personality, Kathleen explains. She needs resolution, closure.

But not Roy.

"I don't have that need," he says simply.

It's hard to convey the spiritual impressions that tells him his son is OK, even if they haven't heard from him in five years and don't know where he is.
Although the Sneddons think of David daily, his disappearance seems to be of little interest in China anymore.

The family says the embassy has closed David's case, although a search on the Chengdu-China Web site of the Consulate General of the United States still reveals David's missing person report.

An e-mail to the U.S. Embassy in Beijing merited this response:

"Thank you for your recent inquiry," wrote deputy press spokesman Richard Buangan. "Unfortunately, the U.S. Embassy cannot comment on cases of private American citizens without specific authorization from the individual. I regret that I cannot be more helpful."

A call to the U.S. Department of State was not immediately returned.

Michael — who after their 2004 trip created a detailed, 74-page report for the governments of China and the U.S., which outlines why they believe David is still alive — said he has been read internal documents that indicate the U.S. State Department has internally concluded that David is dead.

But even without a case or official involvement, Kathleen still researches and follows up on any information, her thoughts frequently drifting to China.

She has loved the country for years, long before it swallowed her son.

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She taught English to Chinese students in Nebraska, and she and Roy taught English in China for several semesters through BYU.

When they moved to Providence several years ago, she befriended two Chinese women who wanted to learn English.

On an especially cold day the first fall after David disappeared, one of the women told Kathleen about Chinese winters.

"It's just cold there," she told her. "It's cold all the time. You never get warm."

The protective mother pauses briefly after remembering the words of her friend, her thoughts thousands of miles away, then says simply,

"I hope David's warm."


Attached Image (Click thumbnail to expand)

[PorchlightEast]

http://z10.invisionfree.com/usedtobedoe/in...pic=53996&st=0&

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http://www.helpfinddavid.com/

[PorchlightEast]

http://chengdu.usembassy-china.org.cn/miss...d_sneddon2.html
Missing American Citizen -- David Sneddon
DATE: August 30, 2004
MISSING PERSON: David Sneddon
White male, 24 years-old, 5’9”, 150 lbs., red hair
Last seen in Li Jiang City in the Yunnan Province, People’s Republic of China
Lives in Provo, Utah

Please notify the U.S. Embassy in Beijing or the U.S. Consulate in Chengdu if you have Information concerning David Sneddon.
(86-10) 6532-3431 x 5137, (86-28) 8558-3992 x6689

Li Jiang, Yunnan Province, China - David was last heard from via email on August 10, 2004 in Li Jiang, Yunnan Province, People’s Republic of China. It is believed that he was to take a bus to Tiger Leaping Gorge and sightsee near to the Tibetan border later that day. Sneddon was to fly to Seoul, Korea on August 25 en route to the USA on August 28.

Sneddon is a bright, benign Brigham Young University student who speaks Korean and traveled to Beijing to improve his Mandarin. In addition to studying Chinese, David worked for MultiLing Corporation, a leading translation firm, as a part-time sales representative for Korea and North American customers. Sneddon is described as being a white male with red hair, 5 feet 9 inches tall, and weighing approximately 150 pounds.

Anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of David Sneddon are requested to contact the Chinese authorities or the U.S. Embassy at (86-10) 6532-3431, x5137 or the U.S. Consulate in Chengdu at (86-28) 8558-3992 x. 6689. You may also contact us via e-mail at consularchengdu@state.gov or amcitbeijing@state.gov

[PorchlightEast]

http://newsnet.byu.edu/story.cfm/52319
Family calls off search for BYU student missing in China
Associated Press - 21 Sep 2004

E-mail or Print this story


PROVO, Utah - Family members have called off a search for a Brigham Young University student who disappeared while hiking in China.


The father and brothers of David Sneddon, who was traveling alone, ended the search after following his trail to an area near Tibet.


Family members had planned to continue searching for another week or more, but decided this week to come home after the trail of people who said they had seen Sneddon ran cold.


"They are in the process of coming home," said Kathleen Sneddon, David's mother. "They feel they have done all they can do in China, but we will continue to pursue various avenues from this end."


Sneddon, 24, of Providence, was last seen by an innkeeper near Tiger Leaping Gorge on Aug. 10. Sneddon had left his large pack at a hostel outside the gorge and was, searchers concluded, traveling with basically just a Book of Mormon, a camera, some clothes and a toothbrush.


Tiger Leaping Gorge, near Lijiang in the Yunnan Province, runs between Haba Snow Mountain and Jade Dragon Snow Mountain and is a popular attraction for backpackers.


Originally the family worried he might have fallen or been hurt inside the gorge. However, the Sneddon family searchers have found several people beyond the gorge that remember seeing him.


The family followed such sightings to a place about a mile from where David Sneddon would have taken a bus back for a flight to make an Aug. 25 business meeting in Korea, and then his fall classes at BYU, but from there no trace of the him could be found.


"I just still have hope that he'll be found," said Kathleen Sneddon. "I just think he's alive, I can't add anything about hope or when or how."


David Sneddon, one of 11 children, served an LDS mission in Korea and was studying both Korean and Mandarin at BYU. By all accounts his Chinese was good enough to converse without an interpreter.


Kathleen Sneddon said she "couldn't ask for better support" than what the family has received from U.S. and Chinese officials in China who have helped in the search.


The family also has discounted rumors that he is living with a local woman in China.


"We do not believe that David is staying with a Chinese woman somewhere in China as his religious training and missionary service for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints would preclude this type of behavior," family members conducting the search wrote home in an e-mail.


The family also does not believe he has gone underground, mainly since he wouldn't have any money. The last time he drew cash from his bank account was Aug. 5.


Besides, his mother said she is confident in what Chinese officials have told her: "You can't hide an American in China."


Sneddon grew up in Nebraska, where he graduated from Lincoln East High School, before the family moved to Providence, about 65 miles northeast of Salt Lake City.

[PorchlightEast]

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,600103631,00.html
Theories abound on missing Y. student
Despite lack of clues, family believes son is being held in Asia
By Tad Walch

Deseret News

Published: Saturday, Jan. 8, 2005 11:10 p.m. MST
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12Next >PROVO — The family of a Brigham Young University student who vanished in China nearly five months ago believes he is alive and possibly being detained against his will.

David Sneddon, 24, went to China last summer to study prior to starting his senior year, but he hasn't been heard from since Aug. 10.

The chief reason the family believes Sneddon is alive is a lack of proof to the contrary, said his mother, Kathleen.

"It sounds so gruesome to say it," she said, "but we haven't found a body."

There is no evidence that Sneddon was arrested by military or local police in western China, but the family can't find any other explanation for his disappearance.

Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah, met with Roy and Kathleen Sneddon in October and agreed to help the couple from Providence, Cache County, find their son.

"I have no more information than you on that," Bennett said when asked if he believed Sneddon is alive. "Naturally, we hope and pray that he is. Certainly, I'm satisfied the U.S. embassy has done everything they can to find him."

At Bennett's request, U.S. Ambassador Clark Randt spoke with China's vice minister of foreign affairs, Zhou Wen Zhong, about Sneddon on Dec. 7.

"The Chinese are being diligent in pursuing it," Bennett said.


Story continues below
Randt spoke with Zhou about the possibility Sneddon was detained, but Bennett said one of the challenges is that Sneddon's trail ended in a town near the border of Tibet, on China's western frontier, a remote area far removed from the capital of Beijing both geographically and in terms of government control.

"That's basically a 'Wild West' show out there," Bennett said experts have told him.

The family emphasized that members of the Sneddon family who visited the area to look for David felt safe and found the people extraordinarily warm and friendly.

Randt told Bennett there is no reason to believe Sneddon stumbled on a military base and was arrested because the area isn't known for sensitive military installations or politically motivated detainments. Ironically, an arrest would be viewed as a positive by the senator and the Sneddon family.

"If indeed he has been taken against his will, chances are he's still alive," Bennett said.

Roy Sneddon and two of his sons spent nearly two weeks in China during September.

The search party found people who had spoken with David Sneddon before and after he hiked through treacherous Tiger Leaping Gorge, where family and friends initially feared David might have fallen and been injured.
"We established clearly that David made it through the gorge alive and talked with people on the other side," said Michael Sneddon, one of David's brothers. "We were able to trace his route to Shangri-La, where he spent a couple of days."

But the BYU senior apparently disappeared on the afternoon of Aug. 13. He left a cafe around noon that day, telling people he was getting on a bus to Quaotou so he could pick up the backpack he left with an innkeeper before his hike through the gorge.

A bus departed at 1 p.m. and the last bus of the day left at 3 p.m. The handful of bus drivers who work that route don't remember Sneddon, who stood out in the minds of many Chinese who met him.

"We think we have absolute proof he was alive and headed for a bus between 12 and 1 o'clock in a city of more than 100,000 people," Kathleen Sneddon said. "We don't think it's possible he could have been attacked or kidnapped."

If Sneddon did get on the bus, he didn't make it back to the inn where his backpack was. Bennett said one theory is that Sneddon chose to retrace his steps and hike back through the gorge, and that he fell then. However, the family finds that unlikely because it would have made it nearly impossible for him to make a scheduled flight from Kunming to Beijing on Aug. 15.

Bennett and the Sneddons receive regular e-mailed updates from the U.S. embassy in China.
On Monday, Kathleen Sneddon traveled to Provo to drop off another child for the first day of winter semester at BYU. While there, she picked up the belongings her son left in Beijing.

Inside David Sneddon's scriptures she found a picture of him with her.

"That was touching for me," she said.

Family members remain upbeat.

"I believe prayers have sustained us and kept doors open for David," she said. "I want people to know we're thankful for those who continue to pray for him and for us."

Meanwhile, BYU is holding a place for him, just as it is for Brooke Wilberger, a sophomore police believe was abducted in Oregon on May 24.

BYU has refunded Sneddon's fall semester tuition, said Carri P. Jenkins, BYU's spokesperson.

"No one's ready to give up," Bennett said. "Certainly we are not."

Tracking missing student Is China detaining Y. student?

Brigham Young University senior David Sneddon disappeared in China a few days after sending an e-mail on Aug. 10. His parents in Providence, Cache County, believe he is alive.

What's happened so far:

• late April — David Sneddon leaves for China to study at a Beijing university

• Aug. 2 — He accesses bank account for final time

• Aug. 5 — Sneddon and BYU student George Bailey set out for western China

• Aug. 9 — Sneddon and Bailey part ways after sightseeing

• Aug. 10 — Sneddon sends final e-mail, begins hike in Tiger Leaping Gorge

• Aug. 12 — He arrives in Shangri-La, according to locals

• Aug. 15 — Sneddon misses flight back to Beijing

• Aug. 25 — He misses flight to Korea; family grows concerned

• Aug. 30 — Sneddon misses first day of fall classes at BYU

• Sept. 9-22 — Roy Sneddon searches unsuccessfully for son in China with two of David's brothers



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

E-mail: twalch@desnews.com

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BYU student missing in China
Article from:University Wire Article date:September 13, 2004Author:Boubacar Barry More results for:david sneddon BYU student


University Wire

09-13-2004

(The Daily Universe) (U-WIRE) PROVO, Utah -- Family and friends are still hoping to find Brigham Young University student David Sneddon, who has been missing in China for a month.

Hundreds of Chinese police officers are looking in Southwestern China for Sneddon, a Chinese major and Korean minor from Providence, Cache County, who has not contacted his family since Aug. 10. Sneddon went to China this summer with friends to work on his language skills at a Beijing university.

After completing his studies in Beijing, Sneddon toured China. On Aug. 10, he sent an e-mail to his mother telling her he was headed towards Tiger Leaping Gorge in Western China, an area known equally for its beauty and danger. He was planning on going to the border of Tibet. He has not been heard from since.

The family started to worry when they didn't hear from him for a few days. However, they decided to give him the benefit of the doubt and wait for future contacts.

Reed Peterson, a family friend and spokesman, said Sneddon might have missed a bus or was stuck in a province without means of contacting anyone.

Sneddon used to backpack the Wind River Mountains with his family when they lived in Nebraska and is a very capable hiker, Petersen said. Tiger Leaping Gorge is similar to Zion National Park and other recreational sights in Utah, Petersen said, where one can go off the path and get into trouble.

The family knew something was wrong when Sneddon missed a business meeting in Korea on Aug. 25 and didn't show up for school on Aug. 30.

"David just doesn't miss school," Peterson said.

The family wants as much information as possible. Sneddon's father Roy and two of his brothers, Michael and James, are in China to find any clues and leads on his whereabouts. But at this point, information is scarce. His bag was still at the inn by the gorge where he was staying. He left it there so he could travel light.

Since he was near the Tibetan border, the thought initially crossed the family's mind that he may have been abducted. But the thought was quickly squashed when the family received no ransom. Peterson also said Sneddon is a poor college student like most students and he had little money on him. Besides, there has been no movement on his bank account.

"I don't know what people are thinking, but from what I know from the Chinese people I met, some sort of mishap probably happened to him," said Christina Felt, a BYU graduate in elementary education. "I'd be surprised if a Chinese person had done anything to him."

The Chinese people love foreigners and take any opportunity they have to speak with them, she said.

Sneddon, who served his mission in Korea, is also fluent in Mandarin. He had been working at Multiling Corp., a local translation company, as a sales person covering North America and Korea. The Aug. 25 meeting was with his brother Michael, the president of Multiling.

Matt Christensen, associate professor of Chinese, said Sneddon is a good student.

Christensen was informed of Sneddon's disappearance soon after he missed his business appointment in Korea. He informed BYU the first week of school and has been the liaison between the family and the university.

Shortly after he learned of Sneddon's disappearance, Christensen had George Bailey, a BYU student and friend who was with Sneddon until Aug. 9, write down everything he could remember. Christensen forwarded this information to the family and the proper authorities. He also passed along information regarding an earthquake in the Yunnan Province.

The U.S. Embassy is updating the family daily on the search efforts, Peterson said. Both the Chinese and American government have been very helpful.

"They are working like crazy to get information and doing all they possibly can do," Peterson said.

The family has tried to keep a low profile. They didn't want to step on any toes of the involved parties, he said.

"We want to keep the support of the Chinese government, and don't want them to feel pressured in any way," Peterson said.

"I always felt safe," said Felt, who was in China in July and August teaching English at Tsinghua University through a BYU teaching program.

Sneddon was not on a BYU sanctioned activity.

"We at BYU are certainly concerned for David and his family," said Michael Smart, BYU spokesman. "They are in our prayers, and we hope for a happy resolution soon. If there is any way BYU can help the family we definitely would do all that we can."

The family wishes to safeguard their privacy at this difficult time, Peterson said. They continue to hold hope in their hearts of finding Sneddon.

"This is a community where everybody pulls together," Peterson said. "There has been so much support. Please continue to keep David in your thoughts and prayers."

Sneddon's employer, Multiling, has set up a Web site in an effort to find David, www.multiling.com/finddavid.

http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-98956229.html

[PorchlightEast]

http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-99753620.html
Family hopes missing BYU student is still alive in China
Article from:University Wire Article date:September 28, 2004Author:Boubacar Barry More results for:david sneddon BYU student


University Wire

09-28-2004

(The Daily Universe) (U-WIRE) PROVO, Utah -- After spending two weeks in China looking for David Sneddon, father Roy, and brothers Michael and James returned to the United States with new leads and more hope in finding him alive.

"The bottom line is we still think he is alive," said Kathleen Sneddon, mother of the missing BYU student.

The search efforts will continue, the family said, but searches will be headed from the U.S. The family says all leads they have received point to David still being alive.

"The family is very positive," said Nathan, an older brother and a BYU graduate in physical science. "I have very strong beliefs to the point I can say 'I know David is alive.' In time we'll find him."

David, a Korean major and Chinese minor, was in China this summer working on his Chinese at a Beijing university. After his studies, he toured around China with a friend for a few days. When his friend returned to Beijing, David continued to Leaping Tiger Gorge in the Yunnan Province in southwestern China.

Initial fears were that he had fallen while hiking the gorge. The last time the family heard from Sneddon was Aug. 10, when he sent an e-mail to his mother prior to hiking the gorge.

However, Roy and his sons were able to confirm that David had made it out of the gorge.

There is ample proof he got out of the gorge, Nathan said. David made it to Shangri-la around Aug. 11. He was to return to LiJiang sometime around Aug. 13 and catch his flight to Korea later that week for a business meeting with his brother.

While in China, the three Sneddons were able to confirm positive sightings of David in several locations along the way to Shangri-la, Kathleen said.

"I am more than ever convinced the sightings they found were definitely him," Kathleen said.

Some people along the route described an American who spoke good Mandarin and fluent Korean. People recognized David from a recent picture his father and brothers carried with them in their search.

"Several people, after describing him, were very excited upon seeing the pictures and knew it was the male who we were seeking," she said.

Others were even able to describe his hairstyle, which had changed since his departure.

"A couple girls in a guest house talked about his 'widow's peak,' which I didn't understand until Roy showed me the pictures from his backpack," Kathleen said. "He has lost a bit of hair this summer and definitely has a small widow's peak."

"A guide in Shangri-la met with a male fitting David's description," she said. "[He] asked about going to the Tibetan border, but turned it down because of time and cost. All reports mention he was tight on funds and ate very simply. Dave didn't even have a credit card with him."

In Shangri-la, the last city he was spotted in, he stopped by a Korean cafe to say goodbye to some people, Nathan said. The bus was only about a mile from the cafe, but he never made it there.

"We are very grateful for the support and help of the Chinese government and state department," Kathleen said. "They have done great work."

There have been rumors that Sneddon had run off with some Chinese girl or had just wanted to change his life, but the family does not see this scenario panning out.

"We do not believe that David is staying with a Chinese woman somewhere in China as his religious training and missionary service for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints would preclude this type of behavior," wrote his father and brothers in a report to the family from China. "David Sneddon is a chaste, well mannered, disciplined young man who, just a few weeks before his disappearance, told his parents that he was looking forward to returning home, finishing his degree, meeting a nice young woman and getting married."

He was very focused and excited to be in China, but also to come home, Nathan said.

David is described by family members as being focused.

"He could make goals and keep them by hard, hard work," Kathleen said. "His senior year in high school he decided to switch from football to cross country. He came home every day, in the heat and humidity of a Nebraska summer, and ran and ran. That year he won the award for the most improved cross country runner."

After studying in Beijing, Nathan said, David planned to get a joint MBA and law degree. Before David's disappearance, he was preparing to take the LSAT.

"He had clear purposes and goals, and he was talking about them up until he went on his little trip," Nathan said.

Nathan said David was very talented with languages and was easy going and laid back.

"He changed majors as a junior and in order to make up for some lost time in Chinese, he decided to live in the Chinese Language House then study in China during the summer," Kathleen said. "It was a goal and he worked hard to complete it."

The family said their deep home comes from the results of the search in China and from spiritual experiences.

"After going to China we feel more strongly than we did before that David is alive," Kathleen said. "We have three witnesses [father, two brothers] to the events."

The father and two brothers were very prayerful in their search for David.

"It is significant to note that in a city of over 120,000, they were truly lead and blessed to find where he stayed, ate, visited and talked with people during his short stay there," she said.

The family said they are appreciative of all the support they have received.

"People from all over the world are praying for the family and Dave," Nathan said. "The outreach and concern of the community at large has been great. We are grateful for the prayers of so many people."

Friends and acquaintances from the past, as far back as high school, have emailed to show support, Nathan said.

"We are grateful for the prayers of so many people on David's behalf," Kathleen said.

The support isn't just from the LDS community. Whole congregations of all faiths are praying for David back in Nebraska, she said.

"I just miss him," Nathan said. "I wish he were home."

David's employer, Multiling, has set up a Web site in an effort to find David, http://www.multiling.com/finddavid.

[PorchlightEast]

http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-7192241.html
Is China detaining Y. student?
Article from:Deseret News (Salt Lake City) Article date:January 7, 2005Author:Tad Walch Deseret Morning News More results for:david sneddon BYU student

PROVO -- The family of a Brigham Young University student who vanished in China nearly five months ago believes he is alive and possibly being detained against his will.

David Sneddon, 24, went to China last summer to study prior to starting his senior year, but he hasn't been heard from since Aug. 10.

The chief reason the family believes Sneddon is alive is a lack of proof to the contrary, said his mother, Kathleen.

"It sounds so gruesome to say it," she said, "but we haven't found a body."

There is no evidence that Sneddon was arrested by military or local police in western China, but the family can't find any other explanation for his disappearance.

Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah, met with Roy and Kathleen Sneddon in October and agreed to help the couple from Providence, Cache County, find their son.

"I have no more information than you on that," Bennett said when asked if he believed Sneddon is alive. "Naturally, we hope and pray that he is. Certainly, I'm satisfied the U.S. embassy has done everything they can to find him."

At Bennett's request, U.S. Ambassador Clark Randt spoke with China's vice minister of foreign affairs, Zhou Wen Zhong, about Sneddon on Dec. 7.

"The Chinese are being diligent in pursuing it," Bennett said.

Randt spoke with Zhou about the possibility Sneddon was detained, but Bennett said one of the challenges is that Sneddon's trail ended in a town near the border of Tibet, on China's western frontier, a remote area far removed from the capital of Beijing both geographically and in terms of government control.

"That's basically a 'Wild West' show out there," Bennett said experts have told him.

The family emphasized that members of the Sneddon family who visited the area to look for David felt safe and found the people extraordinarily warm and friendly.

Randt told Bennett there is no reason to believe Sneddon stumbled on a military base and was arrested because the area isn't known for sensitive military installations or politically motivated detainments. Ironically, an arrest would be viewed as a positive by the senator and the Sneddon family.

"If indeed he has been taken against his will, chances are he's still alive," Bennett said.

Roy Sneddon and two of his sons spent nearly two weeks in China during September.

The search party found people who had spoken with David Sneddon before and after he hiked through treacherous Tiger Leaping Gorge, where family and friends initially feared David might have fallen and been injured.

"We established clearly that David made it through the gorge alive and talked with people on the other side," said Michael Sneddon, one of David's brothers. "We were able to trace his route to Shangri-La, where he spent a couple of days."

But the BYU senior apparently disappeared on the afternoon of Aug. 13. He left a cafe around noon that day, telling people he was getting on a bus to Quaotou so he could pick up the backpack he left with an innkeeper before his hike through the gorge.

A bus departed at 1 p.m. and the last bus of the day left at 3 p.m. The handful of bus drivers who work that route don't remember Sneddon, who stood out in the minds of many Chinese who met him.

"We think we have absolute proof he was alive and headed for a bus between 12 and 1 o'clock in a city of more than 100,000 people," Kathleen Sneddon said. "We don't think it's possible he could have been attacked or kidnapped."

If Sneddon did get on the bus, he didn't make it back to the inn where his backpack was. Bennett said one theory is that Sneddon chose to retrace his steps and hike back through the gorge, and that he fell then. However, the family finds that unlikely because it would have made it nearly impossible for him to make a scheduled flight from Kunming to Beijing on Aug. 15.

Bennett and the Sneddons receive regular e-mailed updates from the U.S. embassy in China.

On Monday, Kathleen Sneddon traveled to Provo to drop off another child for the first day of winter semester at BYU. While there, she picked up the belongings her son left in Beijing.

Inside David Sneddon's scriptures she found a picture of him with her.

"That was touching for me," she said.

Family members remain upbeat.

"I believe prayers have sustained us and kept doors open for David," she said. "I want people to know we're thankful for those who continue to pray for him and for us."

Meanwhile, BYU is holding a place for him, just as it is for Brooke Wilberger, a sophomore police believe was abducted in Oregon on May 24.

BYU has refunded Sneddon's fall semester tuition, said Carri P. Jenkins, BYU's spokeswoman.

"No one's ready to give up," Bennett said. "Certainly we are not."

Tracking missing student

Brigham Young University senior David Sneddon disappeared in China a few days after sending an e-mail on Aug. 10. His parents in Providence, Cache County, believe he is alive.

What's happened so far:

late April -- David Sneddon leaves for China to study at a Beijing university

Aug. 2 -- He accesses bank account for final time

Aug. 5 -- Sneddon and BYU student George Bailey set out for western China

Aug. 9 -- Sneddon and Bailey part ways after sightseeing

Aug. 10 -- Sneddon sends final e-mail, begins hike in Tiger Leaping Gorge

Aug. 12 -- He arrives in Shangri-La, according to locals

Aug. 15 -- Sneddon misses flight back to Beijing

Aug. 25 -- He misses flight to Korea; family grows concerned

Aug. 30 -- Sneddon misses first day of fall classes at BYU

Sept. 9-22 -- Roy Sneddon searches unsuccessfully for son in China with two of David's brothers

E-mail: twalch@desnews.com

[PorchlightEast]

http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-7173365.html
Family tracks student to Tibet
Article from:Deseret News (Salt Lake City) Article date:September 18, 2004Author:Tad Walch Deseret Morning News More results for:david sneddon BYU student

OREM -- Family members searching for the Utah man and Brigham Young University student considered missing in China have tracked him to Tibet.

The last known sign of David Sneddon, 24, was a backpack he left with an innkeeper in Qaiotou in western China on Aug. 10. But his father, Roy, and brothers Michael and James uncovered additional clues to his whereabouts as they retraced his steps this week through Tiger Leaping Gorge and beyond.

The news has family members feeling confident Sneddon, who is from Providence, Cache County, is alive.

"This has been amazing," family spokesman Reed Peterson said. "All the thought was that he was somewhere in the gorge, that maybe he got hurt. Now they have him out of the gorge, and the question is, 'What could have happened?'"

Sneddon apparently took only a fanny pack filled with a Book of Mormon, camera, toothbrush and extra shirt and headed into treacherous Tiger Leaping Gorge. None of his family or friends has heard from him since, including professors and students who expected the senior back for BYU classes this semester.

Sneddon, who served an LDS mission in Korea and was majoring in Chinese, spent the summer in Beijing studying Mandarin at a university.

Armed with four fresh photos of Sneddon from his backpack, Sneddon's father and brothers set out Monday to hike through Tiger Leaping Gorge. In e-mails sent to Peterson and others and posted at www.multiling.com/finddavid/, the three men say they found a Naxi guide named Woolian, who positively identified Sneddon from the photographs as a man he met about a month ago while leading a group through the gorge.

On Tuesday, the family search party reached the end of the gorge and found two women who work at a guesthouse who again identified Sneddon from the pictures.

Since Sneddon still would have had three or four days until he was to catch a flight in Kunming, his father and brothers guessed he would have used the time to tour the area and chose to search in Haba.

Wearing placards on their shirts bearing Sneddon's Beijing student ID photo and the Chinese words "missing trekker," the men found a shopkeeper who said Sneddon bought two biscuits from him. The man said Sneddon was traveling with a young Chinese woman.

The search continued to the Tibetan town of Shangri-La on Wednesday, where the placards drew a lot of attention but no information. However, on Thursday, the small search party found a Korean cafe where an employee remembered Sneddon visiting two or three times.

"She added that there was no way this man could be lost in China," Roy Sneddon and his sons wrote in their e-mail. "He was too capable, too knowledgeable about the culture and language to be lost."

A woman from the cafe next door also remembered Sneddon from his pictures and mentioned the Chinese woman with him.

The family now believes Sneddon traveled through the gorge in one day and then went on to Haba and then Shangri-La, arriving on Aug. 12.

They think he planned to take a bus back to Qiaotou on Aug. 13 to get his backpack, which had his plane tickets, continue to Kunming on Aug. 14 and fly to Beijing on Aug. 15.

"We do not believe David fell victim to bandits as all the government officials and local people report there is absolutely no danger to foreigners from bandits or robbers," the men wrote.

E-MAIL: twalch@desnews.com