 but the reality was far stranger. The exchange student was told his family in China was in danger unless he isolated himself away from society and law enforcement. The shivering and terrified teenager had been groomed by online scammers for more than a month. Eventually, they had ordered him into the wilderness in the middle of winter. Otherwise, they said, his family back in China would be harmed. It was all part of a plan to trick Kai's parents into believing he really had been kidnapped.