Teen leaves behind clues in Morse code

The piece of paper with letters and numbers left by Xiaoqiang on the keyboard of his computer.

(ECNS) -- A high school boy in Zhejiang province left behind Morse code as clues for his disappearance, Hangzhou-based Metropolitan Express said.

The newspaper named the boy only as Xiaoqiang, a high school student in Tongxiang city of Zhejiang, who left home on Sunday morning.

His parents found a piece of paper with letters and numbers on the keyboard of his computer, and he also wrote, "Do you want to know where I am? Decode it."

After recognizing that the letters and numbers were in Morse code, teachers started working on them. A chemistry teacher became involved, as the word "chemistry" was discovered.

Eventually, a letter from Xiaoqiang was found in a dictionary with clues from the Morse code. He said he was feeling pressured by school work and his parents, so he left for a few days of rest, and that he would be back.

Police also found that Xiaoqiang got on a bus and went to Hangzhou last Sunday. He went to a nearby city to get away from school pressures.

An officer surnamed Lu asked his parents and teachers not to punish Xiaoqiang when he returned.

Lu also said the boy might make a good investigator if he became a police officer.

Morse code is a method of transmitting information in a number of ways: originally as electrical pulses along a telegraph wire, but also as an audio tone, a radio signal with short and long tones, or as a mechanical, audible or visual signal (e.g., a flashing light). Some mine rescues have used pulling on a rope - a short pull for a dot and a long pull for a dash.