Chapter 761: The Missing Student
East Valley Town is one of the few towns within the jurisdiction of the High-tech Zone Criminal Investigation Team.
Located at the southernmost edge of Haizhou City’s High-tech Zone jurisdiction, the geographical location is quite unique, with one side facing the sea and the other in the mountains.
East Valley Town has inconvenient transportation and an underdeveloped economy. Many young people go out to work, leaving behind a relatively large number of elderly and children.
East Valley Town Police Station.
"Hello, Captain Lu, I am Li Dong, the director of East Valley Town Police Station."
Li Dong had already known Lu Chuan, having seen him more than once at commendation meetings.
However, they’ve never interacted, and Lu Chuan had never been to East Valley Town before. This was their first official meeting.
"Hello, Director Li, can you tell me the situation?"
Lu Chuan didn’t engage in small talk and got straight to the point.
The disappearance of a student and a missing adult are entirely different matters.
Adults have complete autonomy and may not truly be missing.
But it’s different for students.
On one hand, they are minors and are key protection targets.
On the other hand, they lack complete autonomy, meaning a disappearance could indicate something happened.
Li Dong nodded, having already understood the general situation.
"The missing student is named Wang Yaowu, a boy, who is a student in the third grade of middle school class 3 in East Valley Town."
"Two days ago, on Saturday noon, Wang Yaowu returned home from school, had lunch, and said he wanted to go play with classmates. But by dinner time at six in the evening, he hadn’t returned."
"His grandfather called him, but couldn’t get through. Sensing something was wrong, he gathered villagers to look for him. They searched all Sunday but to no avail."
"This morning, Wang Yaowu’s grandfather came to report."
The situation wasn’t complicated.
However, there was one question. Wang Zhaokai asked, "Do East Valley Town’s students have classes on Saturday?"
Li Dong nodded, "In East Valley Town, most students are left-behind children, and all students live at school."
"For primary schools, they are released on Friday afternoon, allowing students to go home for two days, then return to school on Sunday afternoon."
"In middle school, first and second grades follow the primary school’s schedule, but for third grade, due to academic pressure, they have classes on Saturday morning."
"Third-grade students usually go home on Saturday noon, stay overnight, and return to school on Sunday afternoon."
Wang Zhaokai nodded and didn’t ask further questions.
Lu Chuan wasn’t particularly familiar with East Valley Town’s situation.
But he knew that due to geographical reasons, it’s the poorest town within the High-tech Zone’s jurisdiction.
There aren’t any core industries; most young people have migrated to the city for work, with only children and old people left back in the village.
East Valley Town encompasses over a dozen natural villages, but none have a primary or middle school— all students attend schools in East Valley Town.
Because the roads are long and mostly mountainous, all students opt for boarding.
"What is the situation at the missing student’s home?"
Lu Chuan asked.
"He is the only child living with his grandparents. The parents are working in Tianzhou City and hurried back yesterday."
"What does the school say?"
"It’s just been reported, and there’s no time to go to the school yet."
The case wasn’t complex.
The investigation should focus on two aspects: the family and the school.
"Okay," Lu Chuan began to assign tasks: "Team One, you are responsible for investigating the school."
"Focus on understanding the missing student’s situation at school, such as close friends, desk mates, any conflicts, whether he was bullied, and so on; clarify everything."
"Team Two, come with me to the student’s home."
"Director Li, please have some officers familiar with the situation assist us in the police station here."
"Sure, no problem!"
Nanwa Village, East Valley Town.
In a decades-old brick house on the west side of the village, Lu Chuan met the missing student’s parents and grandparents.
When the police arrived, Wang Yaowu’s father came forward, "Director Li, is there any news?"
He knew Li Dong and went straight to him, his face full of anxiety.
Beside him, the child’s mother had clearly just been crying, with tear stains still on her face.
Li Dong shook his head, indicating that they had just reported the case, and it was too soon for any developments.
"Wang Jun, this is Captain Lu from the High-tech Zone Criminal Investigation Team. Rest assured, the higher authorities are very concerned with your case, and results should come soon."
Lu Chuan nodded, "Don’t worry; we will find the child quickly."
"There are some details not mentioned during the report. Grandpa, when Wang Yaowu left home the day before yesterday, did he have lunch? Did he say who he was going out to play with?"
Wang Yaowu’s grandfather looked a bit wooden.
Clearly, the disappearance of his grandson was a heavy blow.
"He had lunch, two bowls of noodles, and an egg."
"He said he was going out with a tall kid. I... I didn’t think much of it at the time, just thought he was going to play..."
The old man’s voice choked up as he spoke.
The child’s parents were absent most of the time, so Wang Yaowu stayed with his grandparents.
"Who is this tall kid?"
"I didn’t ask too much, should be his classmate."
Lu Chuan thought for a moment and glanced at Chen Jiang beside him, who understood and went out to call Wang Zhaokai.
"Has the child shown any unusual behavior recently?"
"Unusual... not really. Oh, the day before yesterday, he came home with a bruise on his forehead. I asked if he fought, and he said he got it from playing basketball..."
There wasn’t much information from the grandfather.
Since the grandson started middle school, he came back home only once a week, staying for just one night and day, so the grandfather didn’t know as much about him as one might think.
Lu Chuan didn’t get many clues from the grandfather.
"Wang Jun, does your son usually contact you?"
Wang Jun shook his head, saying they only returned during the New Year and holidays.
Most of the time, they communicated through video calls.
"I rarely call him; it’s usually his mom who checks in with him via video every few days."
Lu Chuan turned to the child’s mother, "Has Wang Yaowu shown anything unusual lately?"
"Not really, I send him money on time..."
Wang Yaowu’s mother spoke hoarsely and looked very haggard.
"Oh, last week he said he didn’t want to study anymore and wanted to come work with me."
"Did he ever talk about his classmates?"
"No, he never discussed his classmates with me..."
The information gathered from Wang Yaowu’s grandparents and parents was limited.
They said the child had a gentle disposition, was usually obedient, and never caused trouble at school.
On weekends, he often helped his grandparents with farm work.
On the mother’s phone, Lu Chuan and others saw a photo of Wang Yaowu.
Young and innocent, with two dimples when he smiled.