Chinese student, 23, missing in Amsterdam for weeks; Police, loved ones concerned
Story updated at 9:59 a.m. to add a comment from the University of Amsterdam
Luo Shengmen, a 23-year-old Master’s student at the University of Amsterdam (UvA), has been missing for two weeks. He was last seen in his student flat on Poeldijkstraat in Amsterdam Nieuw-West on February 23. According to his fellow students, his laptop, passport, and phone were still in his flat, and his bank cards hadn’t been used. The police and his family are very concerned.
Fellow students noticed that Luo, an international student from China, hadn’t been coming to class and asked other residents of the Lieven de Key student housing complex to check on him. When his neighbors couldn’t reach him, they contacted the university.
“Fellow housemates alerted us they were no longer in touch with Luo,” said a spokesperson for the university. “It is very worrying.”
The university worked with the missing man’s student housing landlord, De Key, and found out that Luo had not used his key tag to access his room since Feb. 23. “After that, we checked when he was last at the university, and he had not been there for a while,” she said, clarifying that it had been several days since he was on campus.
It then took about a week for the university to get in contact with Luo’s family in China as his emergency contact information included incorrect phone numbers. Once the university found out he was not on holiday in China, the police were notified on March 1.
The police are investigating, a spokesperson told the Telegraaf. “A few days ago, we declared the disappearance urgent,” the police spokesperson said. She wouldn’t elaborate for privacy reasons, only saying that there are worrying signals.
Luo is doing his Master’s degree in Logics at the Faculty of Science, Mathematics, and Compuber Science at the Science Park. Since late last week, video monitors at the Science Park have been showing information about the missing student and asking for any information about his whereabouts.
Students also hung flyers and shared pleas for information on social media. According to a post shared on LinkedIn, Luo’s phone, passport, and laptop were found in his room, and his bank cards hadn’t been used.
According to AT5, Luo’s parents and uncle from China have arrived in Amsterdam to help look for him. “We want to do everything we can to find him,” his uncle told the local broadcaster.
Affected students and staff were offered mental counseling by the university. The UvA also notified media outlets and shared information through social channels once the family gave permission to do so.
