Brontosaurium

Is this similar to the Bride kidnapping seen in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan in terms of tradition?

You've mentioned the complicity of the authorities in Vietnam, how did that affect your search? Is the blind eye turned on a local level or higher? Did any authorities actively attempt to impede your investigation, or refuse to help? How did this play out in China? I have lived in china, and I know that generally, police authority rarely overlaps to different communities, especially in the more rural areas, so I'm curious about how that played into all of this.