A couple paid $80,000 after being told their teen son was kidnapped. He was found living in a tent outside Salt Lake City, police said.

• An exchange student in Utah was tricked into living alone in a tent in freezing temperatures.
• Kai Zhuang, 17, was told by scammers his parents would be in danger if he didn't follow instructions.
• His parents later paid $80,000 in ransom after being told Zhuang was kidnapped, police said.

A Chinese couple was scammed out of $80,000 after being told their son was kidnapped during his student exchange program in Utah, police said on Sunday.

But Kai Zhuang, 17, was in fact camping alone outside Salt Lake City in freezing temperatures at the ransomers' instruction, the Riverdale Police Department said in a statement.