A man in China invited a stranger via a hitchhiking app for a 1,400-kilometre ride costing 2,800 yuan (US$390), but the traveller vanished without paying upon arrival.
Liu and his father planned a road trip from Beijing to Zhangjiajie in Hunan province, central China, in May.
They decided to share the journey with a third party, or "hitchhiker"; they found a person through the service Hellobike.