By BOUBACAR BARRY

New leads develop as the search continues for a missing BYU student in China.

David Sneddon, a Korean major and Chinese minor, last contacted his family Aug. 10, from the Yunnan Province in southwestern China. He was headed towards Leaping Tiger Gorge for a couple of days of backpacking.

"He's an extremely experienced backpacker," said Tim Chandler, a senior from South Jordan, majoring in economics. "His plan was to go hiking through there for a couple of days."

Sneddon took a daypack with him with supplies for two to three days, but left his larger pack at the inn, where it was later found.

When Sneddon missed a business meeting with his brother in Korea Aug. 25, the family became very concerned.

Sneddon's father and two of his brothers headed to China this week to search for him.

As Sneddon's family retraced his footsteps, they ran into people who were camping in the gorge Chandler said. The campers claimed to have seen Sneddon in the gorge a while ago.

"He definitely made it into the gorge," Chandler said. "There was a concern that he had not made it all the way in."

The father and brothers are following a few different leads.

According to Chandler there have been some apparent sightings of an American in the city of Lijiang.

"Locals say they've seen an American walking around," Chandler said.

The father and brothers have checked the hostels up and down the gorge and have spoken with the locals according to Chandler.

However, so far no leads have panned out.

"The optimism of the family is amazing," Chandler said. "The Chinese authorities believe that if he were dead they would have found the body. They are working very hard to find him."

There have been lots of local news stories on Sneddon in China. Supposedly there are posters in the area as well, Chandler said.

Sneddon is described as a fun loving guy, he said. He decided to make this trip last minute after completing a summer of language learning at a Beijing university. After traveling with a fellow BYU student, they parted ways and Sneddon decided to stay in China until his business meeting in Korea.

"His Korean is extremely good," Chandler said.

Sneddon told friends that his Chinese was coming along well.

On one occasion he was on another hike and along the trail there were women selling things. Chandler said Sneddon was able to carry on a conversation with a lady for three hours.

"His language skills are good enough to get him through most situations," he said.

Because he was near the Tibetan border, there were some concerns initially that Sneddon may have been abducted.

"They did get permission from the Chinese government to go into Tibet," Chandler said "which is extremely difficult for a foreigner."

The family will go into Tibet to search after going through the gorge and if they feel the leads point in that direction, Chandler said.

Sneddon's father and two brothers are scheduled to return Sept. 27, but said they will stay longer if further leads are found.

The family has told Matt Christensen, associate professor of Chinese, that they [the father and brothers] are in the region and that things are working out well.

"The authorities have been cooperating," Christensen said.

Christensen has been the liaison between the family and the school.

The family is keeping a low profile for the time being. Newspapers from Iowa and Nebraska have contacted them as well as Good Morning America, which is also working on getting an interview with Sneddon's mother.

Multiling Corp., an international translation company based in Utah County and Sneddon's employer, has been heavily involved in the search efforts. Michael Sneddon, the owner, is one of the brothers in China looking for David.

"He'd been back only a week when he went back to search for his brother," Chandler said. "This is a crucial business time, but family is more important."

The company was shocked to hear he was missing. They have all stepped forward to offer assistance, said Chandler, who is also the IT manager at Multiling.

"The company has bonded with the situation," Chandler said. "It's already like a family atmosphere. Every day people are asking what they can do."

Reed Peterson, a family spokesman, agrees with Chandler.

"The company is just incredible in pulling together to help David," he said.

The Chinese translation section of the company has been looking up information in China and contacted some newspapers.

Other efforts have been made by family friends to assist in the search.

Peterson, the public relations practitioner for Multiling, offered his assistance and has been the family spokesman. Chandler offered to make the "Find David" Web site. (http://www.multiling.com/finddavid/)

They are also working with Sneddon's email service to access his account. They hope to find some information in there that may shed some light on the situation.

There have been many friends and acquaintances that have come forth with information that has been beneficial, Chandler said.

If anybody has any further information they are asked to contact Multiling at finddavid@multiling.com.



Copyright Brigham Young University 15 Sep 2004