A Chinese student missing for four days in the US state of Illinois is the subject of a massive police search after she was last seen on security footage getting into a car.
A Chinese student missing for four days in the US state of Illinois is the subject of a massive police search after she was last seen on security footage getting into a car.
University of Illinois student Zhang Yingying, 26, has been missing for four days. Photo: Handout
Zhang Yingying, 26, a Fujian native, had been undertaking research at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s department of natural resources and environmental sciences for about a month and was staying in university housing, according to local media.
The university’s police department said in a statement that Zhang was last seen on Friday afternoon. Local media said she had sent a text message that day saying that she was going to Urbana city to sign a lease on an apartment, but had not shown up. Her last phone activity was at 2.30pm the same day.
Security footage posted by police on YouTube showed Zhang standing at the side of a quiet avenue just after 2pm on Friday. A black Saturn Astra car pulled up beside her and she spoke to the driver for a few minutes before getting in.
Security footage shows Zhang before she boarded a bus on Friday afternoon. Photo: Handout
“While we cannot release many of the specifics involved in the investigation, we have enlisted all of the available resources which we believe may be useful in our search,” the university police department’s chief, Jeff Christensen, said in the statement, which was released on Monday local time.
“Our investigation is ongoing, and we are continuing to pursue a number of routes which we hope will help us find Ms Zhang.”
Police said they were working with ride-sharing programmes like Uber, and checking other reports of a black vehicle whose driver had invited other young women to get in.
On their website, police said they were “deeply concerned” and were treating the case as a very urgent matter.
Screen shot from The University of Illinois International Student and Scholar Services
The University of Illinois International Student and Scholar Services and internet users shared posts about Zhang’s disappearance on Facebook, while Zhang’s friends in China also tried to raise awareness about her disappearance.
“I feel really anxious,” her boyfriend said, according to Guangzhou’s Southern Metropolis Daily. “She is a smart girl and is cautious about protecting herself. Whenever she goes out, she will tell her classmates and teachers. She wouldn’t visit anyone alone.”
A classmate of Zhang, surnamed Zeng, was quoted by the paper as saying: “Zhang is an outgoing girl who is really careful. She is very goal-oriented and would not befriend bad guys or annoy other students.”
Zhang earned her master’s degree in environmental engineering from Peking University in Beijing in 2016. She also holds a bachelor’s degree from Sun Yat-Sen University in Guangzhou.
