From her hometown in Thanh Hoa, Le Thi Thuy (born 1996) called VietNamNet and informed that she had found her mother, who had been missing for two months.

Two months ago, suffering from mental health issues and emotional instability, Thuy’s mother, Le Thi Lieu (born 1960), cycled from her hometown in Thanh Hoa to Hanoi to find her daughter.

However, upon arriving in Hanoi, Lieu got lost. Discovering her mother’s disappearance, Thuy tirelessly searched for her, seeking assistance from police in Hanoi and Thanh Hoa.

She also posted about her missing mother on social media groups, asking the online community for help in the search.

On May 26, a resident spotted Lieu cycling on a road in Do Nghia Urban Area, Ha Dong, Hanoi. Unfortunately, Lieu was cycling quickly and entered a dark, secluded area, so they couldn’t stop her.

“Feeling lost, I was contacted by a VietNamNet reporter who gathered information about my missing mother. The newspaper then spread the word to help me find her,” Thuy recalled.

The article was republished by many sources. Shortly after the article was released, I was contacted by Tran Minh Duyen, a man from Bac Ninh, who said on June 24, he met a woman matching the description in the article, spotted in his locality. The woman was sitting at Buu Market, begging for money and food.

Thuy immediately took a bus to Bac Ninh to search for her mother and sought the help of local authorities to track Lieu’s whereabouts. With the help from local police, Thuy met her mother at 9.30 pm of the same day.

Thuy said her mother looked very different from the images of her cycling in Hanoi. After days of being lost, she appeared exhausted and frail.

“She was overjoyed to see me. She was likely in a state of extreme confusion and anxiety after being lost for so long. When I asked, she said she got lost and didn’t know how to get home,” Thuy said.

Finding her mother after two months brought Thuy overwhelming happiness, like a rebirth. She took her mother to Hanoi for a health checkup and care.

Lieu recounted cycling aimlessly through several provinces for nearly two months. 

From Hai Duong, she begged for food and money to repair her bicycle, then cycled back to Bac Ninh, where someone spotted her and informed Thuy.

“Reuniting with my mother has made me so happy. I want to thank VietNamNet, local authorities and the online community who enthusiastically helped me find my mother,” she said.

Ha Nguyen