Deceased/Not Found IL - Yingying Zhang, 26, Urbana, 9 June 2017 #1 *Arrest*

[liltexans]

[video=twitter;877315137480339461]https://twitter.com/SenaitFOXIL/status/877315137480339461[/video]

 

[Vail]

i know it's a long shot but I am hoping maybe this turned into a kidnapping for ransom and that is why the FBI is involved. Maybe tthey are saying no one else is in imminent danger because they are negotiating? Maybe she was carrying cash for the deposit to the apartment and she offered it to her kidnapper and he wanted more. That is my hope now.

It is normal for the FBI to be involved in an abduction case of a foreign national.

 

[GigTu]

They did state that he was seen circling the area that day before making contact with Yingying. I believe that is posted on the FBI page along with other details of her disappearance. The reports of a white male trying to entice women into his car on other days, though, were said to involve a different vehicle, but this hasn't been confirmed by LE that I know of.

I hope they were able to capture the license plate info and other distinguishable features about this man from the other camera shots.

 

[JazzTune]

It was HOT that day, I remember (I'm a local). I was so surprised when they released the first pics of her and said she was wearing a long sleeved, plaid top. It definitely could've been a contributing factor.

Just want tell you how much I appreciate you posting here, as a local. It helps so much to have someone local who is willing to give the rest of us the information that is seldom included by the news media. Thanks again for sharing that with us. Hope you keep posting!

 

[HoldySi]

Just want tell you how much I appreciate you posting here, as a local. It helps so much to have someone local who is willing to give the rest of us the information that is seldom included by the news media. Thanks again for sharing that with us. Hope you keep posting!

Of course, it's my pleasure! The whole thing has definitely rocked the campus community. We have our share of crime but never something of this nature, so eerie, so seemingly random and still unsolved! I work on campus and it definitely makes you think twice. My co-worker and I stopped dead in our tracks on a walk the other day because we saw a black hatchback parked at a meter. It was a Ford, but I'll never look at those type of cars the same way again.

 

[liltexans]

Exclusive: Missing scholar's family speaks out on disappearance

It's now been 11 days since a University of Illinois scholar from China, Yingying Zhang, was last seen or heard from.


ETA: In the video at the link, the reporter says that Yingying's mom and grandma are still in China and they told the family members who came to the US not to return home until Yingying is found. (paraphrasing).

 

[bluehydrangea]

He may have access to more than one vehicle then. I bet it's the same guy.

I'm with you. I think he either has access to multiple cars, or it was the same car and the earlier targets didn't recognize it in the pics from Yingying's case. One report I saw said that she thought it was a black car, but couldn't provide further details.


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[JazzTune]

Of course, it's my pleasure! The whole thing has definitely rocked the campus community. We have our share of crime but never something of this nature, so eerie, so seemingly random and still unsolved! I work on campus and it definitely makes you think twice. My co-worker and I stopped dead in our tracks on a walk the other day because we saw a black hatchback parked at a meter. It was a Ford, but I'll never look at those type of cars the same way again.

It must be even harder for all of you to concentrate on your jobs. Having to look over your shoulder all the time, especially whenever you come in, or leave work. I can certainly see why any black hatchback would stop you right then and there! How scary for everyone on campus. Thanks again for sharing your unique perspective with us.

Watching that video tears my heart out. I've watched it several times, trying to pick up clues. When I see that young man on the bicycle I want to MAKE him ride over and rescue her! If only he had known what was happening. He was so close and yet...

Seldom has a case gripped me like this. I check for updates all the time. Just hoping and praying she will be returned safely...

(Hoping too for no typos with this one. I caught one on my last post but missed another. Was supposed to say 'Just want TO tell you...' I always see them after it's too late to edit.)

 

[liltexans]

Exclusive: Family of Missing UI Scholar Speaks Out, Hoping for Yingying's Safe Return Home

The family expressed how heartbroken and scared they are while they continue searching for their loved one. They said Zhang is a very cautious person and loves to travel, and that it is not like her to just get in someone's car.

"We will stay here until they find Zhang,” Zhang’s aunt said, who didn’t want to disclose her name. “So the whole family back in China are hoping [we] can bring Yingying back in China, so we won't leave until we find her.”


“When Yingying is in America, we always video chat together especially with me,” Zhang’s father, who didn’t want to disclose his name, said. “And I would always tell her to take a picture of the area and Yingying would always say 'oh the area I live in is very very safe.'"


The family said Zhang’s grandmother who raised her when she was a kid, and her little brother are just some of many other family members waiting for her safe return back home.

 

[adeedra]

Exclusive: Family of Missing UI Scholar Speaks Out, Hoping for Yingying's Safe Return Home

The family expressed how heartbroken and scared they are while they continue searching for their loved one. They said Zhang is a very cautious person and loves to travel, and that it is not like her to just get in someone's car.

Isn't that getting in someone's car like everyone's doing if they with some reasons trust the driver?

 

[JerseyGirl]

Her disappearance has become a big story in her native China, with her boyfriend reportedly telling one newspaper in that country:

"I wish the search process in the U.S. could be faster. Everything is moving too slow."

Talk of the case also dominated discussion on Chinese social media platforms, such as WeChat and Weibo, even moreso than on traditional outlets.

http://www.news-gazette.com/news/local/2017-06-21/day-12-search-yingying-zhang.html

 

[GigTu]

I agree. It moves too slow, and there isn't a national database to search for connections in. We need an overhaul of how LE communicates with other LE agencies, and a single point of contact where information is stored. If this guy is 3 towns over and his car is recognizable and remembered, what good is it to Yingying when no one "there" may even know of her being missing? Even RSOs aren't stored in a single database. Ridiculous.

 

[StirFridays]

Does anyone know if the ride service Didi Chuxing is available in the US yet? I have read a few things about them taking over Uber in China, and I downloaded the app, but I can't read Chinese :/. Apparently it is pretty popular in China.
Maybe she used this app in China and was familiar with it and used it again here. And since you need to know Chinese this would make her let her guard down more? And Didi Chuxing is not as popular in the states, so maybe the abductor thought he could fly underneath the radar? I have a feeling the abductor was speaking Chinese to her.

Just a thought. Hoping she is safely found today.

 

[mbison]

I agree that this guy got lucky. Such a brazen and bizarre crime. Would seem to be so much easier to just grab an intoxicated girl walking down green street at 2am. To drive around campus in the middle of the day asking girls to get into your car isn't something people would expect.

 

[ninij9]

It's so frustrating. Someone is close to or related to this guy. I'll bet he suddenly doesn't have had car anymore. I'll bet he missed some work around the time she went missing. maybe he has some weird scratches on him too. I think he has done something very bad to her. He must be exhibiting behaviors that would alarm a friend, coworker or relative.

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[HoldySi]

http://www.news-gazette.com/news/local/2017-06-21/day-12-search-yingying-zhang.html

Latest update is that there are no new updates

 

[azure]

http://www.news-gazette.com/news/local/2017-06-21/day-12-search-yingying-zhang.html

Latest update is that there are no new updates

It boggles the mind that this guy can take someone off the street in broad daylight, surrounded by people, in one of America's most unique cars, and LE has no way of finding him.

I think local LE will have a lot to answer for here.

 

[bluehydrangea]

I just read a pretty poignant post on Facebook where someone remarked that if this had happened during the school year, or to someone who had been in our country long enough to have more friends and connections, this case would be receiving more national attention. I sadly have to agree. This is an FBI-designated kidnapping that was caught on camera on the campus of a large university where there were reports of a predator on the loose just days prior. This case should be on every national news program right now, and it's not. I know it's easy to say that about a lot of missing persons cases, but the FBI classification as a kidnapping makes this unique to me.


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[GigTu]

This issue isn't just in the US. Globally, people go missing every day and no one anywhere can find them or find who took them.

I am, however, losing faith in the FBI.

 

[CluelessWonder]

The factors that determine whether something is newsworthy are timeliness, proximity, human interest, prominence and impact. In terms of timeliness, it's sadly becoming old news since there are few new details. Proximity is low since this happened in a largely rural part of the country where there is not a major media market within 20-30 miles. There's nobody prominent involved, and this has a very low impact for most people.Plus, like someone said, she didn't have a lot of connections to this country. So that may explain why it's not being reported more heavily. But the human interest aspect is very high. One would think that the media will latch onto this soon. But who knows. It's sad but a lot of people are uninterested in things that happen far away from them and which don't directly impact them.