“The Gorge”: Dateline Examines the Alice Ku Herchen Disappearance April 10 2026

Dateline NBC returns on Friday, April 10, 2026, with The Gorge, a Weekend Mystery reported by Andrea Canning that revisits the disappearance of Alice Ku Herchen and the years-long legal fight that followed. The broadcast centers on a case that began as a missing persons investigation after Alice vanished during a trip to Taiwan with her husband, Harald Herchen, and later developed into an international wrongful death lawsuit, perjury charges, and an active homicide warrant in Taiwan.

What makes this case especially unsettling is that Alice’s body has never been found. Even without physical remains, investigators, attorneys, digital forensic experts, and Taiwanese authorities assembled a case through cellphone records, email metadata, travel records, financial documents, and sworn testimony. Their work led a California civil jury in July 2025 to conclude that Harald Herchen was responsible for Alice’s death, awarding her parents $23.6 million in damages.

• Who Was Alice Ku Herchen & What Happened to Her? 2026 Update & Profile
• Who Is Harald Herchen & Where Is He Now? 2026 Update & Profile

Alice Ku’s Life and Sudden Disappearance in Taiwan

Alice Ku was a Bay Area tutor who worked with students and families in Cupertino, Mountain View, Sunnyvale, and Palo Alto. According to family members and clients, she was dependable and closely connected to her tutoring work. Concern first spread in early December 2019 when Alice unexpectedly missed scheduled tutoring appointments without explanation. Parents of her students contacted her relatives because such absences were out of character.

Alice had traveled to Taiwan in November 2019 with her husband, Harald Herchen, a Silicon Valley inventor and investor. The couple had been sightseeing near Taroko National Park and Taroko Gorge in Hualien County, one of Taiwan’s most dramatic natural landscapes known for steep cliffs, winding roads, and deep ravines. On November 29, 2019, Alice disappeared.

Harald later said he dropped Alice at Hualien Train Station so she could travel alone to visit her parents near Taipei. That explanation quickly raised concerns. Alice’s parents said they had no idea she was in Taiwan, did not know she planned to visit, and were not expecting her. Family members also said Alice had never told them about her marriage to Harald, which had taken place in October 2017.

The Last Known Timeline of November 29, 2019

One of the most significant pieces of evidence in the case was Alice’s final known photograph. Investigators recovered a selfie taken at 11:17 a.m. on November 29, 2019, showing Alice applying makeup in a hotel room mirror. It became the last confirmed image of her alive.

Harald testified that after sightseeing, he dropped Alice at the train station. But investigators later challenged that account using digital evidence. Taiwanese authorities reviewed cellphone tower records and concluded that the phones associated with Alice and Harald appeared to return to the hotel instead of separating near the train station.

Taiwanese investigators also reported finding no surveillance evidence showing Alice returned to Hualien Station after the sightseeing trip. There was no confirmation she boarded a train, met a tour guide, or traveled toward her parents’ home.

The “Proof of Life” Email That Changed the Case

A central issue in both the investigation and trial was an email sent from Alice’s Gmail account after she had already disappeared. Harald used this message to support his claim that Alice safely reached her destination after leaving him.

Digital forensic experts later disputed that version of events.

Google records subpoenaed during the investigation showed the email originated from the Wi-Fi network of the hotel in Hualien where Harald was staying alone that night. Experts testified that the IP address matched the hotel internet, not Alice’s parents’ home on the other side of Taiwan where Harald claimed she had gone.

Investigators also examined Gmail login and logout history. Records showed Alice’s account had active logins associated with the hotel network, and there was no evidence of a new login from another location after she supposedly left.

Additional email header analysis showed the message was sent from a device still operating on Pacific Time instead of Taiwan time. Experts testified this suggested the email came from Harald’s laptop rather than Alice’s phone.

Andrew Watters, the attorney-investigator hired by Alice’s family, argued there was no reason to create a false proof-of-life email unless someone was trying to establish an alibi after Alice was already dead.

Other Evidence Examined During the Investigation

The case against Harald did not rely on the email alone. Investigators gathered records from banks, airlines, phone carriers, and technology companies.

Bank documents showed no activity in Alice’s accounts after her disappearance. Apple records reportedly showed no successful iCloud logins from her devices after November 2019. Verizon metadata indicated Alice made her last known calls on November 28 to tutoring clients, and there were no outgoing calls from her phone afterward.

United Airlines records showed Harald changed Alice’s return flight at the Taipei airport on December 1, shortly before leaving Taiwan alone.

Investigators also noted suspicious activity involving Alice’s credit card after she disappeared. According to court filings, Harald used her card for a Copy Factory purchase.

When Alice’s family and investigators later examined the Mountain View apartment she shared with Harald, her car was still parked outside covered in dust, suggesting it had not moved for an extended period.

Harald Herchen’s Changing Statements and Broken Hand

During the investigation and civil proceedings, Harald gave multiple explanations about injuries to his hand.

Testimony showed he suffered a fracture around the time Alice disappeared. Different accounts were offered for how it happened, including roughhousing with family members, punching furniture, inflating a tire with a bike pump, and other scenarios.

At trial, Dr. Katherine Putz testified that the fracture pattern was consistent with a punch.

Attorneys for Alice’s family argued these changing explanations damaged Harald’s credibility. Jurors later said inconsistencies in his testimony affected how they viewed his account of events.

Harald also admitted during depositions that he had lied under oath in earlier proceedings about several aspects of the case, leading prosecutors in Santa Clara County to later file seven felony perjury charges connected to statements made in both the wrongful death case and related probate matters.

Taiwan’s Homicide Investigation and Arrest Warrant

Taiwan’s Criminal Investigation Bureau conducted its own investigation into Alice’s disappearance.

After reviewing surveillance footage, hotel records, internet activity, cellphone communications, and witness statements, Taiwanese authorities concluded Alice was the victim of homicide.

An arrest warrant for Harald Herchen was issued in Taiwan in December 2020.

Despite that warrant, legal complications remain. The United States and Taiwan do not have a formal extradition treaty, creating major obstacles for Taiwanese authorities seeking to compel Harald’s return for criminal proceedings there.

The FBI and the American Institute in Taiwan have reportedly assisted with aspects of information sharing, though no U.S. criminal homicide prosecution has been announced in relation to Alice’s death.

The Wrongful Death Trial and Jury Verdict

With criminal prosecution facing international hurdles, Alice’s parents, Weichiao Ku and Pi-Lien Kuo, pursued justice through civil court in California.

Their wrongful death lawsuit, Ku v. Herchen, was filed in Santa Clara County Superior Court in 2021.

After a closely watched trial in July 2025 featuring testimony from family members, Taiwanese investigators, doctors, email experts, and Andrew Watters, a jury unanimously sided with Alice’s parents.

The 12-0 verdict found Harald Herchen responsible for Alice’s death.

Jurors awarded Alice’s parents $23.6 million in damages for their loss. Reports from the courtroom described emotional reactions from Alice’s family after the verdict was read.

Post-trial motions seeking to overturn the verdict were denied.

Where the Case Stands Now

Harald Herchen has continued to deny responsibility for Alice Ku’s disappearance and death.

Following the civil verdict, Santa Clara County prosecutors charged him with seven felony counts of perjury tied to statements made under oath. He has reportedly been released on bail while those criminal proceedings continue.

Taiwan’s homicide warrant also remains active.

For Alice Ku’s family, the civil verdict delivered a measure of legal accountability, but not closure. Alice’s remains have never been found, and many questions about what happened in Taiwan on November 29, 2019 remain unanswered.

Why Dateline’s The Gorge Matters

Dateline’s The Gorge highlights how modern investigations can build a case even when a body is missing and physical evidence is limited. In Alice Ku’s case, digital records became critical witnesses. Email metadata, IP addresses, cellphone signals, account logins, flight changes, and financial activity helped investigators reconstruct a timeline that challenged Harald Herchen’s story.

The episode also focuses on the persistence of Alice’s family. Her parents and siblings refused to accept the explanation they were first given. Their search for answers pushed the case from a missing persons report into civil court, international law enforcement cooperation, and renewed public attention.

The Gorge presents not only a mystery surrounding Alice Ku’s disappearance in Taiwan, but also a portrait of how families pursue truth when traditional evidence is absent and justice is complicated by borders, diplomacy, and time.