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SALT LAKE CITY — Eight senators, including Utah Sens. Mike Lee and Orrin Hatch, reintroduced a resolution Thursday on the disappearance of BYU student David Sneddon in China in 2004.
The resolution calls on the State Department to reinvigorate diplomatic efforts in Asia and work closely with U.S. intelligence agencies to continue the investigation into Sneddon’s disappearance.
Lee wants President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to prioritize the issue as the administration forms policy for the Asia-Pacific region.
Sneddon went missing while traveling in the Yunnan Province of China in August 2004. Since that time, his family and the Utah and Nebraska delegations in Congress have worked with the State Department to uncover more information about his disappearance and possible whereabouts.
Recent reports from regional experts indicate a possibility that the North Korean government, known for decades to have kidnapped foreign nationals in Asia for their own intelligence and military purposes, could have been involved in Sneddon’s case and potential captivity, according to Lee's office.
An identical resolution unanimously passed the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in December, and a Rep. Christ Stewart, R-Utah, introduced a similar resolution that was adopted in the House last year.
Sneddon grew up in Nebraska. His parents now live in Providence.
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