Missing man found on TikTok
Over the past few years, TikTok has become a very popular social media platform among teens and young adults. Featuring short videos with music in the background as well as special effects, TikTok is the go-to place for feel-good videos.
Contrary to popular beliefs that TikTok is pure entertainment, the app also has an unexpected benefit thanks to its sharing platform – helping people find a missing loved one.
Such is the case of a TikTok user based in Dong Nai. While browsing through TikTok videos, he accidentally chanced upon a clip featuring a homeless man sitting on the sidewalk. Surprised and touched, he immediately contacted the OP for further information because the man in the clip was his grandfather who’d gone missing for 3 months.
Here’s how the miraculous reunion happened.
A random TikTok video helps family find missing man
Image adapted from: TikTok/vohuynhtantai
On 24th June, TikTok user Vo Huynh Tan Tai, who happens to be a Saigon-based reporter, posted a clip featuring a man with disheveled hair sitting on the sidewalk.
According to Tai, he stumbled upon the man at the Le Quy Don – Dien Bien Phu intersection in District 3.
Image adapted from: TikTok/vohuynhtantai
Feeling pity for the old man, the reporter gave him some money and recorded a video of him from a distance.
Image adapted from: TikTok/vohuynhtantai
After returning home, Tai uploaded the video on TikTok. His original purpose was to tell his audience about the hardships that many vulnerable residents had been suffering because of COVID-19.
Unbeknownst to Tai, his video accomplished more than just telling a story. It actually became a resource to help a desperate family find a missing person.
A viewer’s grandfather had gone missing for 3 months
A photo of the man provided by his family
Image adapted from: Võ Huỳnh Tấn Tài
Less than one day after sharing the video on TikTok, Tai received a message from another user who claimed to be the grandson of the man in the clip.
According to the user, his 76-year-old grandfather had gone missing for 3 months. Nobody could have imagined that he would travel 70KM from Dong Nai to Saigon all by himself.
After speaking with the user’s parents on the phone, Tai sought help from netizens to find the missing grandfather.
“The man’s family members told me that they had searched for him everywhere, from Binh Duong to Vung Tau, to no avail,” Tai shared in his Facebook post.
Image adapted from: Võ Huỳnh Tấn Tài
A few hours after setting the search in motion, he received information that the elderly man had just checked in at Cong Truong Dan Chu Intersection in District 3.
Before long, family members of the man found the man, who was in good health, and took him home to Dong Nai.
Social media can benefit us immensely if employed properly
Social media has become a part of almost every Vietnamese citizen’s life today. Unfortunately, not every owner of a social account knows how to employ the platform the right way.
From trash-talking people to promoting violent video content, many users are using social media irresponsibly. For this reason, social media platforms have been unfairly shown in a bad light.
Hopefully, Vo Huynh Tan Tai’s story can help everyone get a better understanding of social media. If employed properly, social media can help all of us in numerous ways.
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Cover image adapted from: Võ Huỳnh Tấn Tài
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