Police in Canada frustrated by Chinese package tour escapees
Hunt for four mainlanders believed to have fled in spate of disappearances around Richmond, the only majority Chinese city in North America
Canadian police are exasperated by a spate of disappearances of Chinese tourists, who are all believed to have fled from their tour groups in the Vancouver area.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said foul play is not suspected in any of the four cases of missing mainland tourists under investigation. However, police have been obliged to mount costly, time-consuming and so far fruitless searches for the apparent escapee tourists.
In the most recent case, a middle-aged woman was captured on CCTV sneaking out of her hotel with her luggage at 4am on February 19. A tour guide later realised that Feng Suqin, 52, was missing and called police.
The tour group, which had been attending a martial arts event, returned to China without Feng three days later.
The disappearances all occurred during package tour visits to Richmond, a satellite city of Vancouver. The missing tourists may have blended into the community in what is North America's only majority Chinese city.
"While foul play is not suspected in any of the incidents, it's concerning that tourists are being reported missing from tour groups," Corporal Sherrdean Turley, a spokeswoman for Richmond RCMP, said. "Considerable time and resources must be devoted to ensuring the well-being of these persons."