VietNamNet Bridge – A Vietnamese man has spent the past 20 years searching for his daughter who went missing on a summer holiday with her relatives in the Russian city of Sochi in August 1993.

Quynh Nga (first from left) and her family in Russia in 1993

Born in Ha Tinh Province in 1953, with a passion for Russian literature, Nguyen Huy Hoang grew up and became a lecturer at the University of Hanoi.

In late 1980, he travelled to Moscow as a Ph.D student in Philology at the Russia State University named after Lomonosov.

His wife, Dang Kim Tien, a lecturer of Russian at the University of Languages and International Studies, also travelled to Moscow to do a PhD course.

They both decided to bring with them their first daughter Nguyen Quynh Nga for family reunion, and their family experienced an unexpected separation in Russia.

The now missing girl, born in 1981, was a nine-year-old pupil from Moscow High School 222. Thanks to the support of her parents and friends, she became an outstanding schoolgirl.

Fateful day in Sochi City

Hoang said that the whole family had plans to go on holiday in Sochi - a famous tourism city - to celebrate Nga’s success.

Unfortunately, he and his wife were both busy with their Ph.D studies, so they decided to let Nga go with their friends in Sochi in August 1993.

A few days later, Hoang received the dreadful call from his friends informing him that Nga had gone missing. They said that Nga was last seen chatting with an unknown Russian woman at the beach.

Dropping everything, Hoang and his wife immediately travelled over 2,000 kilometres to look for their daughter.  

Hoang did not bother to eat, sleep or even look himself in the mirror after Nga vanished. One day, he by chance saw his face in the glass at a roadside shop and realised that his hair had turned white shortly after Nga went missing.

Over 6 months later, Hoang and his wife rented a room in Sochi to keep searching for their daughter. He did everything he could think of but to no avail: posting Nga’s photos at every corner of the city and inquiring of everyone about information on her whereabouts.

But nothing happened. Hoang decided to return to Vietnam from Moscow when his wife was completely drained and suffering. The woman was just 36kg in weight.

The endless love of the father

While sitting quietly, sadly on a flight returning from Moscow, a flight attendant heard his story and advised him to post it in a local newspaper in hopes of a miracle.

Since then, he has received tremendous support from a number of generous and kind Russian people and friends.

One of them, a Bulgarian doctorate from Lomonosov University, introduced Hoang to Vanga, a world famous prophet that lived in the Rupite area in Rila Mountain, Bulgaria.

Hearing Hoang’s sad story, Vanga gave them a date to meet. However, at that time, it was extremely difficult for Vietnamese people in Russia to travel to other countries.

They encountered visa problems at the airport and could not fly to Bulgaria as planned.

Vanga is a very kind woman. She asked the Vietnamese couple to send her daughter’s old items including clothes, a sugar cube, and a pen to begin her work.

Some time later, Hoang received Vanga’s reply. "I cannot tell you how you can find his daughter, but she is still alive. You and his wife will see her in Russia".

The oracle of the blind prophet kept alive Hoang’s hope that he might meet his daughter one day in Russia. He decided to leave his promising career in Vietnam behind and accepted a precarious life in Russia.

He began writing stories for local newspapers, working for the Lomonosov University and doing other jobs to earn a living. His wife also worked as an interpreter for a medical organisation and other charity societies.  

Hoang currently works in Moscow as a representative of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, of the Hanoi-based Vietnam National University. He designed a website in nine foreign languages hoping to find his missing daughter.

If you see or meet an Asian girl who is approximately 30 years old with the similarities to the above photo, or can provide any information that may be useful, please contact the following addresses:

In Vietnam:

Nguyen Huy Hoang-Quynh Nga’s Uncle

Tel: +84 906 501 150

In Russia:

Nguyen Huy Hoang- Quynh Nga’s father:

Tel: +7 9160685956

Email: [email protected]

In UK:

Nguyen Thao Nguyen-Quynh Nga’s sister:

Tel: +447736974174

Email: [email protected]

VOV/VNN