At the beginning of August, Lam Giang Commune Police (Lao Cai province) received a thank-you letter from Ms. Ha Thi Huan (born 1972), the aunt of Ms. Trieu Thi Chip (born 1971, formerly known as Ha Thi Anh).
In the letter, Ms. Huan expressed her emotion and gratitude to the police force for urgently verifying, connecting, and helping the family find their loved ones after 48 years of being lost.
It seemed like hope had closed, but in the end, the family found Anh," Ms. Huan wrote.
According to Lieutenant Colonel Hoang Vu Trung - Head of Lam Giang Commune Police, immediately after receiving information from people, the unit reviewed population data to verify.
However, the search process encountered many obstacles when the lost woman had changed her name, her residence was unclear and the initial information was very little.
Going back to memories, once when going to the Lang Thip station area (now belonging to Lam Giang commune) to trade, Ms. Ha Thi Denh (from Hung Yen, who died), who was pregnant at that time, her health was exhausted and life was extremely difficult, sent her young daughter named Ha Thi Anh to a local man named Quy to take care of.
Later, Ms. Denh returned to pick up her son but failed. In the following years, the family repeatedly returned to Lang Thip to search, but all traces fell into a deadlock.
At that time, there was no phone, no social network. The adopter changed the name to Anh, and introduced himself as Tran Van Quy while his real name was Trieu Van Quy. Therefore, the family almost completely lost clues," Ms. Huan recounted.
According to Lieutenant Colonel Hoang Vu Trung, the police started from information about a man named Quy. But in the locality, there are many people with the same name.
After many days of reviewing families who had adopted children, officials identified a suitable case, but Mr. Quy passed away many years ago.
The verification continued to be expanded, the police had to go to Mr. Quy's family's house on the hill to find out. The first person they met was Ms. Kieu - Mr. Quy's adopted daughter, who did not know how to use a phone.
From the meager information provided by Ms. Kieu, the police force gradually connected the data and identified Ms. Trieu Thi Chip as the girl Ha Thi Anh of the past.
Immediately after that, Lam Giang Commune Police connected a video call between Ms. Chip and her family in Hung Yen.
After only a few questions about their hometown, relatives and looking at the features on their faces, the two sisters recognized each other. Both burst into tears after 48 years of separation.
Anh looks very much like her mother and grandmother. Although she has lost a lot of weight now, I immediately recognized it. When she was young, Anh used to think she was abandoned by her mother, but the truth is not like that," Ms. Huan choked up.
According to Ms. Huan, that year the family fell into poverty. Ms. Denh was both pregnant and sick, and the two mothers and daughters had to beg for food for many days, even eating sugarcane residue to survive.
In despair, she asked Mr. Quy for help in treating her illness. In return, her daughter had to stay for him to raise.
A few months later, when her health recovered, Ms. Denh returned to pick up her son but was not accepted. The subsequent searches were unsuccessful.
Until before her death, Mrs. Denh was still concerned about only one thing, which was to find her daughter again. She told her relatives that even if there was only a glimmer of hope left, they should not give up.
After 48 years, that advice has finally become a reality.
