Luckily, it was not that kind of tragic story.
An old schoolmate of hers recognised her own dad in the photos and the mystery was solved.
The grandad was meant to be picking up his own grandson - the son of the woman's old schoolmate - but got confused and took the wrong boy home.
Xiao was missing for a total of four hours, during which "grandad" took him food shopping and even to the hospital for a flu vaccination.
Family speaking to police later clarified the man was visiting from the countryside and was not very familiar with his grandson's appearance.
The boy reportedly tried to tell the man he was not his grandson but, because of his hearing impairment, the man did not understand him.
The teacher also said the mistake happened because, when asked who the man picking him up was, Xiao responded with "grandad".
"In the eyes of a six-year-old, every old man is grandad," many commented on Weibo.