Minnesota comedian Tou Ger Xiong posted photos with his Colombian girlfriend, including a sexy redhead, before police said he was lured by a woman who posed as a woman, kidnapped and killed this week.
Xiong, a well-known activist in the Twin Cities Hmong community, was seen smiling with unnamed red hair while dining at a Korean restaurant located in Medellin on Oct. 20.
“This is Korean food, with my girl,” the 50-year-old said in a video posted on his Facebook, showing off his bowl of beef soup before panning to a smiling redhead with a distinctive “Never Give Up” tattoo on her neck sitting on across the table.
An employee at the Korean restaurant confirmed to The Post that the couple had recently eaten together there.
However, there is no suggestion at this point that the woman is the same person allegedly involved in her disappearance.
In another now-scary Facebook post last summer, a smiling Xiong stood between two glamorous women and jokingly wrote in the caption: “If I’m kidnapped, don’t look for me. I’m happy.”
Tou Ger Xiong called the redhead a girl when they spent time together in Medellin, Colombia, in October. Tou Ger Xiong/Facebook
It’s also not known if the woman in the photo is connected to his fatal kidnapping this week.
The 50-year-old comedian had returned to Medellin earlier this month, telling friends he planned to meet a woman he had been chatting with online.
Police have so far remained tight-lipped about the identity of the woman they say led her into the kidnapping plot, but confirmed they had arrested her after seeing recent pictures on her phone.
Tou Ger Xiong was enjoying Korean food with the unnamed woman a few weeks before she was found dead. Tou Ger Xiong/Facebook Tou Ger Xiong posted photos with Colombian friends he met on his frequent visits to the country. Facebook / Tou Ger Xiong
At about 7pm local time on December 10, Xiong called his roommate in Colombia and said a group of men had drawn guns and had kidnapped him.
The group demanded a ransom of $2,000 (8 million Colombian pesos) for his release, according to local newspaper El Colombiano.
The publication reported the ransom exchange never took place and Xiong was later found in a ravine, dead from multiple stab wounds and blunt force trauma.
The Minnesota comedian and community activist often vacationed in Medellin, his family said. Tou Ger Xiong / Facebook
Xiong’s brother, Eh, told The Post that his brother had communicated with a mystery woman several times before they met for a date.
“He had been in contact with this woman before, and she was part of the ‘new friends’ he met on his way there,” brother Eh Xiong, 56, said of his brother’s fatal journey.
Eh Xiong told the StarTribune his brother knew about the recent increase in tourist kidnappings in Colombia, but said he never felt unsafe visiting the country.
A screen grab shows the area where the comedian’s body was found in Colombia. CBS
“He realized it,” Eh Xiong said. “But he’s one of those people who only thinks the best in people.”
“It’s almost like a second home, he loves it there.”
Xiong said her brother, an avid traveler who often posts his adventures on his social media, loves Colombia’s “lively energy” and has several friends there.
The comedian, who was born in Laos in 1973, “shares his personal story across the country to build cultural competence and address racial discrimination,” the Bush Foundation said when Xiong was named a 2019 fellow.
Xiong was found dead after meeting a woman in Colombia on Dec 10. Tou Ger Xiong / Facebook
His family said they were working with Colombian law enforcement to investigate the crime and bring his body back to the US.
The comedian’s death has shaken the community of Woodbury, Minnesota, where he lived.
Xiong garnered a following among the Hmong community for his wit and humor, which he used to examine cultural and racial differences, Eh told The Post.
Minnesota comedian and Hmong activist Tou Ger Xiong loves to travel and often posts about his adventures on social media. Tou Ger Xiong / Facebook
In one of his last Facebook posts, Xiong wrote a poignant and heartfelt caption:
“Sometimes relationships end. Family members can split up, best friends break up, divorces happen and co-workers get fired. That’s life.
“When that happens, it’s okay to put our egos aside and move on. Gossip, envy, deceit, jealousy, and lies are self-injected poisons that will slowly kill you from the inside. They end up destroying everything you’ve ever had and prevent more beautiful things from growing inside of you.
“So instead of revenge and death for everyone, choose self-love, forgiveness, and compassion. Beauty cannot grow in a heart full of anger.”
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
