Toddler Hoang Vinh Le has been found alive and well more than 16 months after he was first reported missing.

Due to a messy family dispute, Vinh had been in the care of his grandmother, Kim Huong Tran, in Canberra before his father snatched him from a medical practice in O’Connor on 9 April 2021.

After being taken away, his parents, Thanh Le and Lyn Kim Do, alleged that they handed him to a woman named Kathy Nguyen at a convenience store in Sydney and paid her $200 to care for him.

However, police could not identify Nguyen or even confirm that she existed. A court order then demanded the parents return Vinh to his grandmother which was not complied with.

According to A Current Affair, a breakthrough in Vinh’s whereabouts came in September 2022 after he was left at a daycare centre for three days.

A young woman had brought Vinh to the daycare and asked to keep him there for 12 hours before later calling and saying she needed to go to Vietnam.

Someone at the daycare centre then recognised Vinh and contacted police who called Kim to give her the good news that her grandson had been found.

A paternity test confirmed Vinh’s identity and Kim was allowed to bring him home after an emergency court sitting granted her custody.

Kim said that physically he is in good shape except for a skin rash, while he has learned to walk and talk a little, but only in Vietnamese.

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