Diary of a Criminal Investigator

Beidou Village is the most famous urban redevelopment area in the New City District of Haizhou City.

Beidou Village is located in the northwest corner of Haizhou City and is under the jurisdiction of the New City District.

Starting five years ago, Beidou Village began the urban village redevelopment process, and one-third has been completed so far.

Urban village redevelopment has always been accompanied by myths of sudden wealth.

Many people have transformed from paupers to billionaires because of a single demolition.

From life’s losers to the biggest winners.

According to the plan, the redevelopment of Beidou Village should have been completed three years ago.

But due to various reasons like funding shortages and disagreements over compensation, the demolition and redevelopment of Beitu Village have been repeatedly delayed.

So far, only one-third of the households have been relocated, and nearly 2,000 families, or two-thirds, still reside here.

Due to its good location and low rent, this place has also become a haven for many migrant workers.

At this moment, at the southern entrance of Beidou Village.

The northern side has already been demolished, leaving no road, so everyone entering and leaving Beidou Village goes through the south gate.

Lu Chuan and his team have already entered the village entrance by police car.

Wang Biao, the village chief of Beidou Village, is waiting for Lu Chuan and his team.

"Captain Lu, you’re finally here!"

"A child in the village is missing! We’ve been searching for a day!"

Just moments ago, the Criminal Investigation Team of the High-tech Zone received a report that a child in Beidou Village was missing.

"Village Chief Wang, don’t worry. First, tell us what’s going on and where the child’s relatives are."

"The child’s family is still searching in the village. Right now, the entire village is looking for the child."

Wang Biao’s expression was anxious: "It happened early this morning. Chen Jiawang’s wife from the second group ran to my house saying the child was missing, so I organized people to help."

"The day’s almost over now, and we still haven’t found the child."

"Alright, first gather Chen Jiawang’s wife and her family back."

"We need to understand the process of how the child went missing."

Lu Chuan’s first task is to determine whether the child was kidnapped or just wandered off.

If the child wandered off, it’s easier to handle. Even if there’s an accident, the child can be found.

The key is to rule out the possibility of kidnapping.

Time is crucial in solving a kidnapping case.

If the golden 72 hours are missed, people’s memories of the suspect fade, making it really difficult to find them.

Ten minutes later, Lu Chuan led the team to Chen Jiawang’s home.

"Officer... please, you must help us, my child... sob..."

The child’s mother was crying, her eyes swollen and she could barely catch her breath.

"Calm down first. Tell us, when did the child go missing?"

"What were you doing at that time?"

"What was the child doing?"

"Think carefully, explain slowly, and don’t leave any details out. That’s the only way we can help you find your child quickly."

Chen Jiawang also comforted his wife.

"I wasn’t home in the morning, went to the city to buy a sofa."

Chen Jiawang explained to Lu Chuan: "My wife called me when she noticed the child was missing. I couldn’t come back immediately, so I told her to go find the village chief.

"It was probably around eight in the morning."

As they talked, the grandparents who were still searching outside returned as well.

Chen Jiawang’s wife, having regained her composure, began to recount to Lu Chuan how the child went missing.

"At around six in the morning, after the child got up, I fed him and started cleaning."

"Sob... the child was playing in the yard by himself."

"I fed him water in between, then went to do laundry."

"The child was just in the yard..."

Chen Jiawang’s wife pointed to a spot beside Lu Chuan, where there was a pile of Lego toys.

"He was playing right here."

"I just went to do the laundry, and when I came out... he was gone...sob..."

Lu Chuan frowned; her explanation was not very enlightening.

"What’s the exact time?"

Chen Jiawang took out his phone: "It was 9:38. My wife said she found the child missing, called out twice but couldn’t find him, and then called me immediately."

"Boy?"

"Boy!"

Lu Chuan let out a breath.

The majority of kidnappings involve boys; there are rarely any girls kidnapped.

Usually, kidnapped children are sent to remote mountainous areas.

In these remote regions, transportation is inconvenient, culture lags, and gender preference for boys is significantly pronounced.

Therefore, these families typically seek to buy boys, rarely girls.

Supply follows demand, so traffickers generally kidnap more boys.

However, in recent years, due to ongoing intensified crackdowns on trafficking and stricter citizen identity registration, trafficking cases have become rarer.

But becoming rarer doesn’t mean they’re extinct.

Moreover, with covert kidnapping tactics and various modus operandi, trafficking cases are incredibly hard to crack.

"Did you hear any noise at that time?"

Chen Jiawang’s wife was inside the house doing laundry while the child played in the yard, so she could see nothing at that time.

But it’s possible she heard something.

"Nothing unusual...oh, I heard the neighbor’s pet dog bark twice while doing laundry."

"My child is afraid of their dog, so I went to take a look, but...sob...my child was gone!"

"How old is the child?"

"Four and a half!"

Four and a half...

At this age, a child has very little ability to act independently.

Even if the child left home, they couldn’t have gotten far.

Now, with the whole village mobilized to find him, yet no result after a full day, it’s highly likely the child was kidnapped.

"Village Chief Wang, how is the search going on your end?"

"We’ve searched everywhere!"

Wang Biao sighed: "I’ve mobilized all 2,000 households in the village. We’ve combed every inch of Beidou Village, but still haven’t found the child."

"Where are the surveillance cameras in the village?"

"In recent years, the village has been undergoing demolition and redevelopment, often without utilities, let alone surveillance. Most public surveillance facilities have been dismantled, and even those that remain are unusable."

Wang Biao pointed to the road surveillance at the main gate, where the wires were disconnected.

"Each household installed some surveillance cameras at their doorsteps, but not every house has them."

"Here’s what we’ll do," Lu Chuan considered for a moment; it’s initially plausible to conclude the child was likely kidnapped.

"Village Chief, could you compile a list of who has surveillance cameras at their doors, and have them check the footage from around 9 in the morning today?"

"No matter how minor the anomaly, if anything feels off, have them bring the footage to me."

Time is of the essence; the child went missing at 9:30 in the morning, and almost a full day has passed.

A day... anything could happen.