RIVERDALE — Police say a 17-year-old foreign exchange student who sparked an intense search by officers who believed he had been kidnapped — only to learn that the teen was a victim of "cyber kidnapping" — has returned to China with his family.

Riverdale Police Chief Casey Warren provided more details Tuesday about Kai Zhuang and what had happened to him over the past month.

Warren says Kai and his family were the victims of a cyber kidnapping scheme — an extortion plot in which the "kidnappers" use deception and threats to make a family believe their loved has been taken and that they need to send money to ensure that loved one's release. Warren says it's a scheme that has become prevalent with foreign exchange students.

"These cyber kidnappers will target young foreign exchange students and they will lead them to believe their family is in danger in China. They will tell them that if they don't do exactly what they say, then their family will be harmed," the chief said.

In this case, he said Kai believed his family was in danger and he needed to do whatever he could to protect them, while his family simultaneously believed that Kai had been kidnapped and was in danger.

Based on their investigation, detectives believe the "kidnappers" were from China, Warren said. They contacted Kai and led him to believe that his family would be harmed if he didn't send the kidnappers money, or if he tried to check on his family.

"Kai was under the impression if he called his parents and said anything to them, they would be harmed," the chief said.

It was not clear Tuesday how the kidnappers first came in contact with Kai.

Police believe the student then began requesting extra money from his parents and put those funds into a bank account accessed by the cyber kidnappers. But after his parents became suspicious about the extra money they were sending, the fraudsters switched their focus. They forced Kai to send a picture of himself to his family and led them to believe that he had been kidnapped and that his captors were now demanding a ransom.

"(The parents) had received a photograph from Kai from his phone, and it was a photograph where it made it appear that he was kidnapped or being held captive," Warren said.

The cyber kidnappers then told Kai that he needed to leave his host family's home and go to an isolated area.

"The captors want him to isolate himself from all society because they know there's a high probability that police and law enforcement will be contacted. And once we contact Kai and know he's safe, the game is up," Warren explained.

In this case, the family contacted a liaison at the school Kai was attending in Utah after they believed he had been kidnapped. The liaison then contacted the host family who was unaware that Kai was missing.

As detectives tried to piece together what may have happened, they found doorbell security video that showed the teen leaving his host family's Riverdale home alone about 5 a.m. on Thursday. After failing to come up with any additional clues by pinging his phone and using the Weber County Search and Rescue Team's drone unit, detectives started retracing Kai's steps during the weeks leading up to his disappearance.

Warren says his detectives learned that about a week before Kai went missing, Provo police had spotted him carrying camping gear and stopped him to find out what he was up to. Officers called the host family and found out they were unaware that Kai was in Provo.

Once police learned that the people extorting Kai's family were likely also in China, they convinced the family that the cyber kidnappers weren't really with Kai and to stop sending money.

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Riverdale police say missing foreign exchange student found safe was victim of 'cyber kidnapping'

Riverdale police said Sunday night that a missing 17-year-old foreign exchange student has been found safe and that he was the victim of "cyber kidnapping."

As police continued to retrace the boy's steps, they learned he had been to a bank in Ogden and to the mouth of the canyon in Brigham City on Dec. 23. Based on that information, Riverdale and Weber County authorities focused their search efforts there. It was a Riverdale officer who was hiking the area who came across Kai.

"Kai was relieved to see him," Warren said.

He said Kai had very few supplies in the tent with him and was not properly equipped for the cold weather.

"We're fortunate we found him when he did," the chief said. "Our biggest concern was he would freeze to death."

He said one of the first things the 17-year-old wanted to do when he was found was to contact his family to make sure they were OK.

Warren on Tuesday also praised the officers who worked the case, noting that they worked "around the clock" to find Kai.

"Some guys worked 36 hours straight," he said. "They're all heroes in my book."

As for bringing the extortionists to justice, Warren says his office is working with the FBI, but it's unknown if the cyber kidnappers will be found.

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