Unfamiliar Territory: The Unclear Circumstances Behind The Smuggling and Disappearance of Wang Yuanxia

On August 2, 1998, a United Airlines flight arrived at Washington Dulles Airport from Paris, France. A man emerged from the gate with a young girl who appeared to be in her young teens. The man, a Thai citizen, told immigration officials that the young girl was his niece, and that she was a “Manger in the silk area of his business”. But authorities quickly realized the girl could not communicate in Thai. 

The young girl was eventually identified as Wang Yuanxia, and she was being smuggled into the country illegally from Fujian, China. While her smuggler was arrested for his crime, young Yuanxia was sent to a foster home temporarily while the courts figured out how to handle her situation.

Perhaps as mysteriously as she arrived in the United States, less than two months later, Yuanxia would disappear on her way home from school. As of today, the 24th anniversary of her vanishing, she has never been seen or heard from again. 

There are many questions surrounding the life and journey of Wang Yuanxia. Join returning guest Joann Li and I for episode 33, where we discuss the circumstances of Yuanxia’s disappearance and whether what happened to her was in any way related to her illegal entry into the country, or a bizarre coincidence.

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