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The toddler was abducted from a hotel and sold to a childless couple for today's equivalent of $840.
A Chinese man who was kidnapped 32 years ago was reunited with his parents with the help of facial recognition technology.
Mao Yin was two when he was abducted on the way home from nursery school after his father briefly looked away while getting him some water in a hotel in the Chinese city of Xi'an, according to Chinese state-broadcaster CCTV.
On Monday, the family broke down in tears embracing each other after finally being brought together at a news conference held by the Xi'an police.
"I don't want him to leave me anymore. I won't let him leave me anymore," said Mao's mother, Li Jingzhi.
Mao Yin was two when he disappeared in Xian, the capital of Shaanxi province, in 1988 and was sold to another family who raised him as their own son.https://t.co/82OphQSY82
— Yahoo Singapore (@YahooSG) May 19, 2020 @YahooSG
After the boy was taken, the parents dedicated their lives to finding him, with Jingzhi quitting her job to search for him full time.
She posted more than 100,000 flyers around 10 provinces and became a frequent guest on television shows -- including "The X-Factor" -- asking for help in finding Mao, per the news source.
Mao had seen his biological mother on the television shows, but had no idea he was the one being searched for by the family for over 3 decades.
In April, Xi'an police received a tip about a man who had bought a baby in the 1980s, per state news agency Xinhua.
Mao Yin was just 2 when he was snatched outside a hotel and sold to a childless couple in the next province. #FMTNews #Abducted #Reunited https://t.co/ATWQmQe5Tr
— Free Malaysia Today (@fmtoday) May 19, 2020 @fmtoday
Using facial recognition technology, the police analyzed old photos of Mao as a boy and were able to create a simulated image of what he might look like today. They compared the photo to the ones in a national database and were able to track down a man living in the city of Mianyang and going by the name of Gu Ningning.
A DNA test proved Gu was actually Mao.
Police later said a childless couple had paid the equivalent of $840 in today's money for Mao at the time of his kidnapping.
Jingzhi was told authorities had tracked down her long-lost son on Mother's Day.
"This is the best gift I have ever got," she said, according to BBC.
Mao said he would move to Xi'an to live with his parents now.
As an investigation into the October 17, 1988 disappearance is ongoing, police have yet to provide any more details on the couple who paid for Mao.
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