David
Traveled Safely Through Tiger Leaping Gorge| Methodology
of Our Search |
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| Summary
of Sightings |
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| Details
of Key Sightings |
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| Key
Results |
Finding David Sneddon
| David
Traveled Safely Through Tiger Leaping Gorge |
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Starting on the "High Trail": Left to Right: Sean (Tibetan guide), Charlie Chen (Chinese interpreter), Michael Sneddon, & Roy Sneddon
As we began our search in Tiger Leaping Gorge, we did not expect, as had the Chinese government and the U.S. Embassy officials, that David had been injured or killed in the Gorge. What we found as we searched led us to conclude that David had indeed made it through the Gorge safely. Even with some mud on the trail, based on our backpacking experience, we found the trail only slightly above average in terms of difficulty. The elevation was not unduly high, and the switchbacks along the trail were reasonable. The trail is a main thoroughfare used by the local people, who live in small villages along the gorge and walk to and from shops and the school in Qiaotou.
Over the course of our six-day journey we found nine people who had met David Sneddon and conversed with him between August 11 and 14, 2004. (We call each of these encounters a "sighting.") Based on information from these witnesses, we know that David walked through the Gorge safely and traveled to Shangri-La. Starting on Monday, September 13, 2004, we retraced David's path from Qiaotou, along the High Trail out of the Gorge to Sean's Guest House, northward to Haba, and on to Shangri-La.
Map 3 — Diqing Prefecture
To ensure that there is no question that David made it out of the Gorge alive and traveled to Shangri-La, this section gives in depth information about our search. We explain the methodology of our search, summarize the nine sightings, and share the significant details of four key sightings. Detailed accounts of all sightings can be found at www.helpfindDavid.com.
As we searched, our "Missing Trekker" placards drew interest and it was easy to approach and question people wherever we went. They could immediately perceive that we had a problem and needed help. When questioning a person, we never asked leading questions to achieve a particular result, such as "Did he wear a small backpack?" Instead, we began our interview by asking if the person had seen a male westerner who spoke Chinese well. Then we would ask the person to describe the westerner's appearance and clothing. Then we would ask the person if he or she had observed a backpack and, if so, to describe its size and appearance. At this point we asked many other questions such as time of day, mannerisms, and circumstances. Many of the questions asked could only be formulated and answers evaluated by family members. If the sighting seemed reasonable, we produced the four recent photos of David. Both our interpreter and our guide spoke Chinese and English; therefore, we had two persons assisting and verifying the accuracy of the interpretation.
Women from a remote Tibetan village outside Shangri-La question Roy Sneddon and Charlie Chen
We established criteria to verify that a sighting was valid. For example, the person reporting a sighting of David Sneddon would need sufficient interaction to:
All three of us (Roy, Michael, and James) were present with our guide and interpreter and jointly witnessed the discussion and interview of each person who reported having contact with David. The three of us have jointly rated the authenticity of these sightings on a scale from 1-10.
1 = No sighting with no additional description or detail of David.
5 = A possible sighting based upon some description of David, but not as detailed.
7 = A positive sighting.
10 = Absolutely positive sighting with David, based on the appropriate date/time of sighting, consistent with other sightings, detailed description of David's physical and personal characteristics, including clothing, language skills, mannerisms, personality, baggage, associations, conversations, and so forth.
In chronological order, these are the nine reported sightings of and interactions with David:
Table 1 — Reported Sightings of David
# Date of Our Interview(s) Person who experienced Location Probable Time & Rating of Authenticity 1 2 Sean's Guest House, Walnut Grove, 2 KM after end of High Trail 3 4 5 Employee at Yak Bar1 6 7 Ms. Liu Miao, at the Tibetian International guest house2 8 9 Three women barbers in a barber shop near Snowland Restaurant
a sighting of David
Date of Sighting
1. This employee's sighting was ranked lower than Ms. Zhang's sighting since she did not interact with David as much as the owner.
2. When we met Ms. Miao, she was working at Snowland Restaurant; however, she was working at the Tibetian International guest house in August when she met David.
Table 2 — Details of Key Sightings
Key to Report Details:
During our interview, the person who had an encounter with David gave an accurate report that included the following details:
A westerner who spoke Chinese well.
David's correct physical height, weight, and physical appearance.
The right time frame for the encounter.
A description of David's clothing, typically his pants or his hat. (See picture.)
A correct description of the size of his pack (a "fanny pack"). (See picture.)
A correct description of the color of his pack.
A description that David had a receding hairline or had a widow's peak.
A confirmation that the most recent photos from David's pack matched the westerner they encountered.
Information regarding his care to spend money very frugally.
An accurate description of some personality traits (for example, he likes to joke and tease).
Unique information regarding his linguistic ability and training (that either he studied Chinese in the U.S. and recently in China or that he spoke Korean).
Map 4 — Sightings in Tiger Leaping Gorge
Map 5 — Sightings in Shangri-La
Space does not permit a detailed review of all sightings; therefore we include details about four important sightings, Sighting 1, Sighting 4, Sighting 7, and Sighting 8. These key sightings and our own experience, coupled with our knowledge of David's timeline, give us the following important information:
Key Sighting 1. On Monday, September 13, 2004, within two hours of beginning our hike up the High Trail we met a guide that approached us with his mule and clients. The guide knew our Tibetan guide, Sean, and stopped to talk. Sean explained our mission and asked if the guide had seen a westerner who spoke Chinese. Because the guide knew Sean, he shared what he knew and recounted his experience. Four weeks earlier and farther up the trail, the guide met a westerner who spoke Chinese well and had caught up with the guide's pack train as they were hiking late in the day. The guide reported that the young westerner had studied Chinese recently at a Beijing university and previously in the U.S. The young man joined the guide's group and continued hiking together for about three hours until all arrived safely at about 10:00 p.m. at Tina's Guest House at kilometer 20, on the far side of the Gorge. While hiking with this group, the westerner spoke Chinese with the guide's clients. The guide reported that while they were hiking, David practiced Chinese and taught English to the guide's clients. The guide gave an unequivocal positive identification that the westerner with whom he met and hiked for approximately three hours was David Sneddon. The guide confirmed that David Sneddon transited successfully through the gorge and stayed the night with his group at Tina's guesthouse. Tina's guesthouse is where the paved road meets with the High Trail. Sean's guesthouse at Walnut Grove, where we found our second sighting, is only an effortless walk of two kilometers down a flat paved road.
Good news! A guide on the trail reports to Sean that a month earlier David Sneddon caught up with his group and traveled together for about three hours on the "High Trail" before stopping for the night at Tina's Guest House.
Key Sighting 4. In Shangri-La, the owner of a Korean Café (Yak Bar), Ms. Zhang Xiao Fen, reported that David visited her restaurant on three occasions over a two-day period. She said that she and David conversed with each other in Korean. Ms. Zhang's detailed description of David's appearance and personality was phenomenal. She described his mannerisms in detail and how he joked with her and her employees. Ms. Zhang reported that on the second day David came and ate around lunch time; he then told Ms. Zhang good-bye, as in "good-bye, I am leaving." Ms. Zhang concluded that David was leaving the city.
Ms. Zhang Xiao Fen, owner of the Yak Bar in Shangri-La, talks on the telephone to Mr. Gavin Sundwall of the U.S. Embassy and reports that David Sneddon visited her Korean restaurant two to three times over a period of two days. Ms. Zhang's interaction with David is unique in her specificity of David's personality traits and use of the Korean language.
Key Sightings 7-8. Another key sighting was with a male, Chinese guide, Dorje, at the Snowland Restaurant and Coffee Shop in Shangri-La. Dorje also had reasonable English-speaking skills and spoke directly to us in English. Dorje reported that David spoke to him in Chinese, inquired about guided treks, and had several conversations with Dorje over a two-day period. The guide Dorje explained that David decided not to take a guided tour, as the cost was prohibitive for a person like David traveling alone with limited funds. We asked Dorje if he could remember a specific date. Dorje was not sure, but estimated the meeting was around the 14th or 15th of August, dates within a day of David's timeline.
Finally, Ms. Liu Miao, who had worked for the Diqing Tibetan Area International Guest House in August 2004, remembered David and reported to us that David had stayed one night before leaving the next day. While leaving the guesthouse, David told Ms. Liu that he was traveling that same day to Lijiang.
Snowland Restaurant of Shangri-La, Dorje and Ms. Liu Miao report their interaction with David Sneddon. These two met David separately, but gave similar descriptions of his size, appearance, clothing, and intentions.
David's itinerary gives us insight to the circumstances of his disappearance. Ms. Zhang, the owner of the Korean Café (Yak Bar), reported that David told her goodbye and left her café around 12:00 noon or shortly thereafter in the early afternoon. Because David would need to pick up his large backpack in Qiaotou and then continue with the next bus for Lijiang, he would need approximately six (6) hours to travel from Shangri-La to Lijiang. Therefore, in order for David to arrive in Lijiang by the late evening of August 14th and still have enough time to check into a youth hostel and eat a meal, David would need to leave Shangri-La no later than 3:00 or 4:00 PM.
As David left the Yak Café the afternoon of August 14, 2004, it is very likely that he was heading directly for the bus terminal located less than two kilometers away. Taking a 2:00 PM bus would put him into Lijiang around 8:00 PM. The next day, Sunday August 15, 2004, David could take an early bus from Lijiang to Kunming and arrive at the airport by 8:30 PM, allowing adequate time to catch his 10:15 PM flight to Haikou on the island of Hainan. Of course, David never picked up his large backpack in Qiaotou, which suggests that he never took the bus traveling from Shangri-La to Qiaotou.