James and Roy Sneddon in Shangri-La, Yunnan Province, Peoples Republic of China searching for information on David Sneddon.
Elder David Sneddon Mormon Missionary – South Korea Seoul Mission
David Sneddon, our youngest son, disappeared twelve years ago this month (on or about August 14, 2004) while hiking in China’s Yunnan Province. Our latest information on David’s case points to David’s likely abduction by elements of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea). We believe he is now being held captive there. First, please join with us as we daily petition our Father in Heaven for his safe return to the United States.
Second, we are fortunate that concerned members of the U.S. Congress have joined with our family to help bring additional investigative resources to determine David’s present circumstances. These members have introduced a joint resolution of congress which will bring such resources to bear in David’s case. WHAT CAN YOU DO? The resolution needs additional cosponsors to bring the resolution to a vote. Specifically, three (3) more members of the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee and five (5) more cosponsors in total, to bring about a vote on the resolution this Fall. Your help to petition congress would be greatly appreciated at this time.
The YOU Can Help David tab has a sample letter you can send to your Members of Congress asking them to cosponsor David’s resolution. Please pass on this information to your family, friends and colleagues to help us spread the word and get the cosponsors we need. Additionally, the North Korea Freedom Coalition has started an online petition. Please be sure to sign the petition and ask your Members of Congress to cosponsor!
Our family is especially heartened by Senator Marco Rubio’s support as a cosponsor of the resolution particularly in light of his efforts campaigning for the presidential nomination of the RNC. Senator Rubio personally pledged to lend his efforts to try to help David.
The Senate’s Chairman over Asian Affairs has also stepped forward to cosponsor the resolution. The government of Japan has taken great interest in David’s case on behalf of many missing citizens in Japan who were also likely abducted by North Korea. Finally, we are indebted to U.S. Senator Mike Lee and Congressman Chris Stewart who have our gratitude for their determination to advance David’s case. However, we need more concerned U.S. citizens to petition their congressional representatives to support David’s resolution in order to secure a vote!
David’s likely plight should be alarming to every American. News articles and major NGO reports have documented North Korea’s systematic abduction of citizens of other countries in order to train its own intelligence agents to infiltrate these countries. It appears a U.S. citizen, – most likely our son David – has been taken as well. See HRNK’s report Taken! for greater details on the subject of North Korea’s patterns of abduction. For a quicker read there is an excellent article from the Wall Street Journal by Melanie Kirkpatrick and a breathtakingly illustrated article in Outside Magazine by Chris Vogel specifically about our David’s disappearance and its DPRK connections. Chris traveled to Yunnan Province, PRC to write the article.
Try to imagine Kathleen and my frustration and anxiety as we seek further information about our son. Our goal is to ensure that the U.S. government does everything possible to investigate his likely abduction and secure his safe return to the U.S. The questions and concerns raised by NGO’s, news reporters and world leaders about his likely situation and that of others like David should resonate in all of us. Abduction of citizens throughout the world is state policy for the present leadership of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
Help us bring David home – Get involved today! We appreciate your support to bring David’s resolution to a vote by writing your members of Congress. Join with us as well in regular prayers in behalf of David and the North Korean people who languish under the regime of the DPRK.
Gratefully,
Roy & Kathleen Sneddon (David’s Mom & Dad)
