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His family have not been allowed to see the phone records which might indicate who called Sompawn (known popularly as Pawn) prior to his kidnapping. His house was later burned.

While news of his disappearance has not surfaced in the local media, Pawn’s disappearance is a very public secret and is discussed cautiously in Vientiane and Luang Prabang.  People see it as a possible return to hard line policies of the past. UNESCO is thought to have intervened to plead that the case be investigated and Pawn released, but so far there is no indication that the government is willing to respond.

Sompawn, a handsome man in his late 30’s, had become increasingly outspoken about the environmental damage being done by Chinese rubber plantations in Luang Namtha. Last year, the Boat Landing, which Pawn owns with Bill Tuffin an American conservationist and past aid worker, was inundated when heavy rains slid off deforested hillsides around Luang Namtha and carried detritus down into the upstream dam. The Boat Landing, which sits right on the Nam Tha river, found itself submerged in swirling waters as the guests made a hasty getaway.There is evidence that forced evictions and deforestation in protected areas to make way for Chinese projects has caused severe hardship amongst ethnic minorities. Frank evidence of malnutrition and chronic illness is emerging. Some of this is documented by young travelers whose weblogs describe scenes of deprivation, misery and of fear. The travelers, expecting forest treks are instead confronted with the bare hillsides, and in their weblogs describe the nervous attempts of guides to explain why National Protected Areas are being denuded and replaced with rubber. This on-line gossip has the potential to kill Lao’s nascent tourist industry, which until recently was labeled green. Last week the Government's mouthpiece, the Vientiane Times, reported that a huge Chinese owned casino and several luxury hotels were soon to open in Luang Namtha. There is no doubt that they will service rich Chinese tourists who cannot gamble on their side of the border, and who seek sex workers as many of the Lao women pushed off their land have become. Lao's protected areas are famous for many varieties of wildlife. Many, like the snow leopard, are emblematic of the extinction caused by rampant development, particularly that of plantations, which can be considered ‘green deserts’ where native species cannot survive.

Bill Tuffin is now in hiding in the capital, having also received warnings from unnamed sources. He would not disclose the nature of those warnings as he feared for his companion's wellbeing. Pawn’s wife Patsannee, (Joy) who suffers chronic ill health, is known to be distraught and in great fear for her husband’s life. Some think that the political elite want to take the successful lodge over. A previously successful French businessman was found shot on his way back to Xieng Khouang and the death never explained.  Later a well connected Lao took over his hilltop hotel and popular Vientiane ‘tex mex’ restaurant.The Boat Landing, winner of international awards for sustainable tourism, has been an increasing destination for international travelers drawn to the region’s natural beauty and cultural diversity. It is this very success that some say was behind Pawn’s disappearance. The Lao government, remembering the war and the ongoing insurgency, is known to be highly secretive and nervous about the role that international visitors play. As one long term observer said, “they cannot really believe that foreigners like to come here to either work on aid projects or to travel. They see conspiracies everywhere.”  While wanting the foreign revenue from tourism, they are nervous of the security implications of having so many foreigners around.  It is said that hiring of a military helicopter to take a well-heeled Japanese couple on a flying tour might have been the tipping point event that led to Pawn’s disappearance.Lao's determination to enrich itself by the development of massive hydropower and mining schemes threatens many of the pristine areas left in the country. Many of these regions like the Nakai-Nam Theun area are home to rare species and are some of the most precious ecosystems left in Asia. Tourists are drawn to those places, hoping to catch views of wild tigers, elephants and other species only found in these regions. But there is an increasing mismatch between tourist potential and the big environmentally destructive projects. Small scale eco projects have managed to distribute funds to small rural communities, while large scale development has concentrated wealth in the hands of the urban elite. While fancy cars are multiplying in Vientiane, many rural poor are left without land to grow rice.
Sompawn’s disappearance reminds us that the eco warriors are also an endangered species in places like Lao.