A 22-year-old Chinese student who was abducted from a Toronto suburb last Saturday is talking to police investigators after he turned up Tuesday night bruised but largely unscathed in the sleepy cottage town of Gravenhurst, some 170 kilometres from where he was taken.
Wanzhen Lu walked up to a residence on Doe Lake Road in Gravenhurst, looking for help, shortly before 9 p.m. Tuesday, York Regional Police Const. Andy Pattenden said Wednesday.
The homeowner called police and officers with the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) took Lu, who was suffering from minor injuries, to hospital for treatment.
After a short treatment, Lu was taken back to the Markham area, but police would not reveal his exact location due “obvious safety concerns,” said Pattenden.
Members of Lu’s family arrived in Canada from China on Monday and were “traumatized” by their son’s abduction, Pattenden said.
Investigators hope Lu will help them piece together what happened between his abduction from the parking garage of his condo building in Markham and the time he was dropped off near Doe Lake Road in Gravenhurst.
“The basic timeline is that he was taken from Markham around 6 p.m. ET on Saturday night. We located the suspect vehicle on Monday. From there, we don’t know where he was taken to,” Pattenden said.
“There ‘s a lot that we need to learn now. Mr. Lu is going to be the best source of info. Investigators are working on every lead,” Pattenden told reporters.
Police are looking for four suspects captured on security cameras of the parking garage.
UPDATE – ARMED KIDNAPPING IN MARKHAM – Wanzhen LU was located shortly before 9pm tonight in Gravenhurst. With assistance from @OPP_COMM_CR he was taken to hospital with minor injuries. The search continues for the 4 suspects who kidnapped Mr LU. Any info call 866-876-5423 x7865. pic.twitter.com/fpvVcqOMVy
— York Regional Police (@YRP) March 27, 2019
Footage from the garage cameras shows three masked men grabbing Lu and forcing him into a black Dodge Caravan after shocking him with a conductive energy weapon, while a fourth was the driver.
“We know they’re capable of violence,” Pattenden said.
Lu’s female companion who arrived with him in a luxury Range Rover SUV was shaken but not harmed.
Police did not receive a ransom note or any other clear indication of the motive behind Lu’s kidnapping in the days that he was missing, Pattenden said.
A 35-year-old Toronto man was arrested Tuesday in connection with the case, but police had to release him for the lack of evidence to support a criminal charge, Pattenden said.
“This investigation is far from over,” he said. “We are going to continue to pursue these suspects.”
Pattenden encouraged them to contact lawyers and turn themselves in.
“We will figure this out – it’s just a matter of time,” he said.
Police describe one of the suspects as being 6’2” and heavyset with dark skin. He was seen wearing dark blue jeans and a dark blue jacket. The second suspect is said to be about 6’1” with dark skin, and was seen in a black Canada Goose jacket.
Police don’t have physical descriptions of the other two suspects, but say that one was wearing a green and yellow hooded jacket and the other had on a black jacket, blue pants and a mask at the time of the kidnapping.
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