Touching moment elderly parents are reunited with their 40-year-old son after he was abducted

This is the touching moment two elderly Chinese parents are reunited with their long-lost son 38 years after he was abducted.

The 70-year-old man and his wife had spent the last nearly four decades praying for the return of their child, nicknamed Jin Shui, who was snatched from their home at the age of two in 1982.

Emotional footage shows the family breaking down in tears as they finally got to embrace each other again today after police tracked down the son with the help of a national DNA database.

The family from a remote village in northwestern Chinese province Shaanxi had lived a simple and happy life before it was all shattered on the wee hour of May 12, 1982.

The father, Su Bingde, had left home earlier that day to visit a relative, reported local media. Thinking he would return by the night, Mr Su did not lock the house while his wife and two children stayed home.

But the father did not manage to come home while the mother, Huang Renxiu, tucked the children into bed.

In the early morning, Ms Huang was woken up by her daughter who wanted to use the toilet.

The mother was horrified to find that her two-year-old son Jin Shui, who was in a sound sleep next to her, had suddenly disappeared.

Ms Huang immediately contacted her husband and other villagers as they spent the rest of the night looking for the toddler. But the little boy was nowhere to be seen.

Refusing to give up, the family then began a decade-long quest to search for their beloved child.

Mr Su started going to other towns and cities in the hope to find any information about his son’s abduction.

The impoverished villager travelled mostly by foot to save money and sometimes spent hours walking non-stop.

Struck by grief, the mother began suffering mental issues, putting more strain on the devastated family.

Although local police launched an investigation soon after Jin Shui’s disappearance, the officers were unable to solve the case due to the remote location and limited information.

Nearly 40 years later, the silver-haired parents still prayed that their long-lost son would return one day.

Mr Su said that he had spent the past few years saving money for his funeral.

He told reporters in a interview earlier this year: ‘I don’t want to trouble the family. I’ve sorted it out myself. My one last wish is to see my son Jin Shui once again.’

The family’s prayers were finally answered when they were notified by police on Tuesday.

After comparing DNA samples in a national database, the officers located Jin Shui, who is now a 40-year-old man, known by the name Li Guolin.

Mr Li now has a family of his own with a wife and two sons. They live in Hebei province, 1,104 kilometres (686 miles) away from his birth parents.

On September 17, the family finally met again after nearly four decades as they hugged one another and burst into tears.

The overjoyed father said: ‘I had waited for this day for 38 years. I didn’t think I would also meet my grandsons!’

Other clips show the reunited family returning to the village as they gathered friends and relatives for a banquet at home.

Human trafficking has been a serious issue in Chinese society. An estimated 70,000 youngsters – from babies up to teenagers – are snatched away from their families in the country every year.

Some are bought, some are simply stolen. They end up as labourers, in forced marriages or as the adoptees of wealthy families, either in China itself or overseas.