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

[mbison]

That is a great point. In the summer it runs on a reduced schedule. I believe I read on some comments on social media that the bus was coming every half-hour and she still had a good 20 minutes to wait. Thanks for thinking of this!

If she was already a half hour late and knew she was stuck there waiting another 20 minutes for the next bus, that may have made her a bit more susceptible to believing whatever story the Astra guy told her.

 

[mbison]

I looked up the weather history for June 9 in Chambana -- looks like it was close 90 degrees at that time. She may have been reluctant to walk the 1.5 miles to the apartment in that heat.

 

[Ven]

The driver of the vehicle will certainly be located in the coming days. The media attention, reward money, and involvement of Dr. Lee suggest this is a high profile case with unlimited investigative resources.

 

[agilbe]

I looked up the weather history for June 9 in Chambana -- looks like it was close 90 degrees at that time. She may have been reluctant to walk the 1.5 miles to the apartment in that heat.

True. I've done it, but it was NOT a fun walk. With todays temp of 113 no way.

 

[liltexans]

[video=twitter;877224722538401793]https://twitter.com/PTJusticeHLN/status/877224722538401793[/video]

 

[HoldySi]

I looked up the weather history for June 9 in Chambana -- looks like it was close 90 degrees at that time. She may have been reluctant to walk the 1.5 miles to the apartment in that heat.

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.

 

[Ven]

From your quote:

"Although officials have said they do not believe there is any immediate danger to the public"

I wonder why they believe that? Do they know who he is, where he is, are they watching him?

They may have someone under surveillance. When did the billboards go up and when did they say there is no immediate danger?

 

[Ven]

LE impersonator(s) attempted to abduct a 19 year old female in Ohio this week.

The victim reported a white male, about 5' 10" tall, was driving a black or dark-colored Ford Focus or Ford Fusion with lights on the dashboard. The vehicle, however, was not marked as a law enforcement vehicle. There was also reportedly a passenger in the vehicle, described as a shorter white male with a heavier build.

The first male reportedly approached the victim's vehicle and stated he was a police officer on his way to work, but he would not show any identification. He then claimed he would have to take her in for violations, and he had the victim sit in the back seat of his car.

The passenger stayed with the victim's vehicle, according to the PCSO, and the driver pulled away from the scene of the traffic stop. The victim again asked to see his identification, but when he refused, she reportedly fled the vehicle when she found an opportunity and went to a nearby relative's home.

The victim's vehicle was located about two miles from the site of the traffic stop, where it had been abandoned.

http://www.pickawaynewsjournal.com/...ion-car-theft-by-police-impersonator-cms-3239

I wonder if something like that could have happened here.

 

[ninij9]

I'm thinking she would only consider getting into a car under one of these circumstances:
#1 she believed the driver was/or was sent by the landlord.

#2 She recognized the driver as an aquaintance/friend/classmate.

#3 She viewed driver as an authority figure, ie: police officer.

#4 or the driver pointed a gun at her and compelled her into the car.

I'm personally going with #1 for the moment. Jmo. Just because we haven't heard different doesn't mean the landlord is cleared. Jmo, but we will see.

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[Ven]

Re: the reports that someone impersonating LE was asking people to get into a black sedan in the area in the days leading up to YingYing's disappearance...do we know if only Asian females were being targeted or were the attempted adbuction(s) indiscriminate?

 

[kirkassoc]

I'm thinking she would only consider getting into a car under one of these circumstances:
#1 she believed the driver was/or was sent by the landlord.

#2 She recognized the driver as an aquaintance/friend/classmate.



#3 She viewed driver as an authority figure, ie: police officer.

#4 or the driver pointed a gun at her and compelled her into the car.

I'm personally going with #1 for the moment. Jmo. Just because we haven't heard different doesn't mean the landlord is cleared. Jmo, but we will see.

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I am going with #2. I wonder if she might have mentioned, at the place where she was working, where she was going and why. It would be easy enough for another student/faculty member to pull up to her and tell her they were going in that direction. Just a thought.

 

[calvinshobbes]

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.

 

[Ven]

IMO, if it was someone she knew, they would have been found already because of the vehicle. At the very least, LE would be all over the person, while looking for YingYing and waiting to make an arrest. That could be the case as we don't know what is happening right now with the investigation. The use of the billboards, the FBI involvement, and the reports of LE impersonation lead me to believe that is not the case.

I think the most likely occurrence was a stranger abduction. The kidnapper could have said that he was a law enforcement officer, and she may have been vulnerable as a foreign student. Another possibility is that he impersonated being an Uber driver. Maybe there was a language barrier that contributed to her confusion.

 

[liltexans]

[video=twitter;877292364943040512]https://twitter.com/KatherineFoxIL/status/877292364943040512[/video]

 

[bluehydrangea]

Re: the reports that someone impersonating LE was asking people to get into a black sedan in the area in the days leading up to YingYing's disappearance...do we know if only Asian females were being targeted or were the attempted adbuction(s) indiscriminate?

I believe it was indiscriminate. I saw posts on the local news station's social media page from a woman who said her daughter was approached, and they were not Asian.

This is why, at first, I kind of thought the perp may be intelligent but not "street smart". With the high population of international students at UI, it would've made more sense to target that group specifically. He also seemed clueless to the fact that there are cameras everywhere on campus and that he drives a unique vehicle. I know some will disagree, but I think this dude just got lucky.


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[HoldySi]

I believe it was indiscriminate. I saw posts on the local news station's social media page from a woman who said her daughter was approached, and they were not Asian.

This is why, at first, I kind of thought the perp may be intelligent but not "street smart". With the high population of international students at UI, it would've made more sense to target that group specifically. He also seemed clueless to the fact that there are cameras everywhere on campus and that he drives a unique vehicle. I know some will disagree, but I think this dude just got lucky.


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I agree with all of this.

 

[missgulfsouth]

I agree with all of this.

Indiscriminate but prepared. He incapacitated her very quickly. He's brazen.

 

[GigTu]

LE has not stated whether or not the same car was seen circling the area that day, or any other day. That also would have been picked up on cameras, right?

 

[bluehydrangea]

LE has not stated whether or not the same car was seen circling the area that day, or any other day. That also would have been picked up on cameras, right?

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.


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[Ven]

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