Deceased/Not Found IL - Yingying Zhang, 26, Urbana, 9 June 2017 #2 *Arrest*

[Nick_1]

Im assuming this is what pinged her phone at 2:30ish. Very well could have been thrown out the window on the way out of town via downtown area.

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A ping can only be conducted by law enforcement in a few scenarios. The first is a warrant or affidavit. This is signed by a judge, (or magistrate at the federal level). Urgent or exigent criteria must be met. Obviously, with regards to this case, this was the most likely scenario.

Secondly, a ping is the distance from the cell tower to the device. That's pretty critical.

It sounds like this should be pretty easy to do, right?

Curveball (again): She has been stateside for less than two months, right? What is her cell phone situation? Was it just data for internet access? It appears, "sms" is present in the lower right corner of the above photograph. Notice anything? It wasn't present under any of the prior messages between the two. Why? A reason does exist.

Final thought unrelated to that topic: If the victim was on her way to sign important, legally binding documents, what all would she have brought in that bag? A passport? Perhaps a student visa? Proof of income or a guarantor for the contract? Just some thoughts.

 

[Nick_1]

It was here that I read that bit about her cell phone. That info may have been initially released to the group of friends/colleagues that reported her missing.

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Where was this taken from or to whom was it distributed, initially? Her phone was last used at a train terminal, am I reading that right? "The Illinois terminal?" Maybe this is starting to make a bit of sense, if so.

 

[Nick_1]

Soon I hope her friends and family will have answers, but I admit I'm perplexed how these new billboards will help.

http://www.illinoishomepage.net/news/local-news/new-billboards-will-focus-on-yingying/753188626

For one, where will the billboards be placed, Chicago? Is there some reason to believe YZ is there? If not how can the residents provide MORE information than they have already?

The billboards will not feature the Astra but will flash YZ face 800+ times a day.

According to the article or information distributed that I posted above, maybe their is a benefit. Her phone was last used at a train station; if that information is correct, billboards may help.

 

[Nick_1]

bbm That would explain why LE have not given any additional info about the condition and location of the car or its owner.

"The over analysis of said analysis, can lead to analysis which in turn leads to paralysis. This paralysis was caused by you guessed it, analysis."

Great post and I agree.

 

[daisy.faithfull]

I agree why even say they located the car. How do they know that was exact car, did they get a license plate read on it?

Hi DQN, I think that is a good question. In the first thread someone posted that the car is rare and was only produced in '08-'09, but that doesn't mean anything really. I wonder if something of Zingzing's was in the car, or they found something indicating she had been in the car. You would think that the abductor would have removed all such evidence, but you never know.

I'm hoping there are cameras around where the car was parked that were able to catch a good image of the driver, but if they had such a thing I'm guessing it would have been released to the public.

 

[Nick_1]

New billboards will focus on Yingying

The FBI is now working on updating billboards to reflect progress in the search for Yingying Zhang.

The agency is using billboards around the area to reach people who may know something. Zhang has been missing for 19 days.

Billboards featuring Zhang and a black Saturn Astra will soon have the car removed from the graphic.

Adams Outdoor Advertising is using five of nine digital billboards, rotating an image of Zhang from 6 am - midnight. It means, at each location, Zhang is shown about 810 times a day.

Billboards featuring Zhang and a black Saturn Astra will soon have the car removed from the graphic.

That's the biggest clue they've given indirectly in this whole case.

 

[Yvettea]

According to the article or information distributed that I posted above, maybe their is a benefit. Her phone was last used at a train station; if that information is correct, billboards may help.

The billboards will feature YZ prominently. Anyone seeing the billboard could only provide information if they have seen YZ. How are they choosing the locations? Do they have information that she is in a particular area?

 

[Millhouse]

A ping can only be conducted by law enforcement in a few scenarios. The first is a warrant or affidavit. This is signed by a judge, (or magistrate at the federal level). Urgent or exigent criteria must be met. Obviously, with regards to this case, this was the most likely scenario.

Secondly, a ping is the distance from the cell tower to the device. That's pretty critical.

It sounds like this should be pretty easy to do, right?

Curveball (again): She has been stateside for less than two months, right? What is her cell phone situation? Was it just data for internet access? It appears, "sms" is present in the lower right corner of the above photograph. Notice anything? It wasn't present under any of the prior messages between the two. Why? A reason does exist.

Final thought unrelated to that topic: If the victim was on her way to sign important, legally binding documents, what all would she have brought in that bag? A passport? Perhaps a student visa? Proof of income or a guarantor for the contract? Just some thoughts.

As for what she would have in her bag: Maybe my experience was unique, but I didn't really need that much to actually sign my lease. I needed a check and my ID. She was already approved prior to this according to posts upthread stating this happened on June 8, and the initial screening is when I needed my proof of income and other documents. And also in my experience, most college complex landlord companies wouldn't accept cash for a security deposit or rent, so if she had money on her, I would guess it was a check, money order, or something similar to that. That being said, I also didn't text with my larege apartment complex landlord, so they might have been operating under different circumstances.

As for the phone, I'm curious to know the answer to this. Does she have an iPhone? Is it the difference of whether she's using iMessage/Wifi vs. cellular service?

 

[JnRyan]

These are good points. In the Hannah Graham case, one man was caught on video watching her, and then following her...and LE released the video and many were convinced he was the explanation for her disappearance. But it turned out that he was a total red herring. He was concerned for her welfare because she was drunk, and just after that, she was actually abducted by ANOTHER guy who took advantage of her condition. The first guy thought she was in the hands of someone she knew, and stopped following. When the first man saw the video of himself on the news, he went straight to the police to tell them the story and the focus turned to other possibilities. So perhaps the Saturn driver really was giving her a ride, saw the footage, and went to LE to explain. I hope her friends and family have answers soon.

Yes! I remember this. I thought for sure the way the guy acted he was stalking her and he was the abductor. I had that one all wrong. I believe he actually gave LE a description of the guy who caught up to Hannah and that guy turned out to be the killer. Unfortunately, the witness thought the way the guy walked up and put his arm around Hannah they knew each other. And he walked off.

I try to keep an open mind after that case. The odds are still good the Astra driver is the abductor. But if he did just give her a ride that would explain how LE knows they have the right car - he told them after seeing himself on video.

 

[Elainera]

The billboards will feature YZ prominently. Anyone seeing the billboard could only provide information if they have seen YZ. How are they choosing the locations? Do they have information that she is in a particular area?

Maybe they do, if the Astra owner was innocent and dropped her off at a train station. jmo

 

[Nick_1]

As for what she would have in her bag: Maybe my experience was unique, but I didn't really need that much to actually sign my lease. I needed a check and my ID. She was already approved prior to this according to posts upthread stating this happened on June 8, and the initial screening is when I needed my proof of income and other documents. And also in my experience, most college complex landlord companies wouldn't accept cash for a security deposit or rent, so if she had money on her, I would guess it was a check, money order, or something similar to that. That being said, I also didn't text with my larege apartment complex landlord, so they might have been operating under different circumstances.

As for the phone, I'm curious to know the answer to this. Does she have an iPhone? Is it the difference of whether she's using iMessage/Wifi vs. cellular service?

SMS and other messaging services are different, yes. No clue if the victim has an iphone or which messaging service the victim utilized.

 

[Yvettea]

Maybe they do, if the Astra owner was innocent and dropped her off at a train station. jmo

In the reference material it says police confirmed YZ has not left Champaign by bus, train, or other form of public transportation tools.

 

[Nick_1]

Maybe they do, if the Astra owner was innocent and dropped her off at a train station. jmo

With the amount of time elapsed, lack of information, removal of her face and the vehicle from billboards, I strongly agree and share, "just your opinion."

Just my thoughts, as well.

 

[JnRyan]

I find it amazing the FBI is managing to keep the location of where the Astra was found a secret. I don't see identifying the car parked on the street or in a parking lot because LE presence would seem to be noticed by others. I'm thinking either when going through the owners of black Astra's they came across the owner and he admitted to giving her a rider OR he saw himself on video and went to LE voluntarily. Even then LE would probably have towed the Astra somewhere for processing and that had to be noticed. Of course, the media may be cooperating with LE as well if only one or two news agencies has uncovered the secret.

 

[HoldySi]

I think we should all try our hardest not to assume the Terminal is involved in any way. I believe it was the closest cell tower where her phone pinged, that terminal is not far at all from the location where she was picked up. Lots of theories have started regarding her or her phone being left at the Terminal and I don't think we have enough information to go there, to me it's as simple as her proximity to the cell tower and that's it.

Similarly, I don't really think turning left from Goodwin onto University towards the bus terminal/train station IS the quickest, most efficient way "out of town," nor do I think it would be the first thought of a perp who had either pre-planned this or done it on a whim. For anyone who is familiar with the CU area, if you're trying to think of the quickest way out of town you could continue north on Goodwin to University, go east on University to Lincoln, then get on 74 after traveling north on Lincoln for a few miles. If you're REALLY comfortable with the area like I am, you may even continue north on Goodwin all the way to Bradley, then take Bradley east to Lincoln, then you know the rest. Unless you're already on a north-south street like Neil or Prospect (which both have their own entrances to 74), your first inclination wouldn't be to go east to get to the interstate.

All of that being said, this latest news about the billboards is very interesting to me. They're seemingly wanting to phase out anything involving the Astra completely. Starting to wonder if that person was innocent in all of this or somehow the car didn't end up being involved after all. This case gets more and more complex each day!

 

[daisy.faithfull]

*If* the car was used in past attempted abductions, I would think it less likely that it is stolen car, as I would think it not wise to hold onto a stolen car for long. *If* it was found abandoned somewhere, I would think that it is more likely to be a stolen car.

I think it's great to know that LE has the car because, as noted upthread, its an indication that LE has a lot of active leads. It also gets Zingzing's story in the headlines again, and that is always a good thing. It gives me a lot of hope. Unfortunately, it doesn't give us much to work with.

 

[daisy.faithfull]

I think we should all try our hardest not to assume the Terminal is involved in any way. I believe it was the closest cell tower where her phone pinged, that terminal is not far at all from the location where she was picked up. Lots of theories have started regarding her or her phone being left at the Terminal and I don't think we have enough information to go there, to me it's as simple as her proximity to the cell tower and that's it.

Similarly, I don't really think turning left from Goodwin onto University towards the bus terminal/train station IS the quickest, most efficient way "out of town," nor do I think it would be the first thought of a perp who had either pre-planned this or done it on a whim. For anyone who is familiar with the CU area, if you're trying to think of the quickest way out of town you could continue north on Goodwin to University, go east on University to Lincoln, then get on 74 after traveling north on Lincoln for a few miles. If you're REALLY comfortable with the area like I am, you may even continue north on Goodwin all the way to Bradley, then take Bradley east to Lincoln, then you know the rest. Unless you're already on a north-south street like Neil or Prospect (which both have their own entrances to 74), your first inclination wouldn't be to go east to get to the interstate.

All of that being said, this latest news about the billboards is very interesting to me. They're seemingly wanting to phase out anything involving the Astra completely. Starting to wonder if that person was innocent in all of this or somehow the car didn't end up being involved after all. This case gets more and more complex each day!

Me too, Holdysi. I wish LE would come out and say whether or not it is still a car of interest.

 

[DQN]

Hi DQN, I think that is a good question. In the first thread someone posted that the car is rare and was only produced in '08-'09, but that doesn't mean anything really. I wonder if something of Zingzing's was in the car, or they found something indicating she had been in the car. You would think that the abductor would have removed all such evidence, but you never know.

I'm hoping there are cameras around where the car was parked that were able to catch a good image of the driver, but if they had such a thing I'm guessing it would have been released to the public.

Not only remove evidence but if this car was also responsible for causing her to go missing, why was it most likely found pretty local and not driven out of the area or garaged some where. Perhaps she did know the person, this person man or woman drove her some where and they are following her steps from that point, like the train station. In this case that person would have come forward and admitted they were the one that picked her up. Nothing more is being said because of the media hounding this person would receive. They could very well be ruling out the black Astra as opposed to ruling it in.

 

[Yvettea]

I think we should all try our hardest not to assume the Terminal is involved in any way. I believe it was the closest cell tower where her phone pinged, that terminal is not far at all from the location where she was picked up. Lots of theories have started regarding her or her phone being left at the Terminal and I don't think we have enough information to go there, to me it's as simple as her proximity to the cell tower and that's it.

Similarly, I don't really think turning left from Goodwin onto University towards the bus terminal/train station IS the quickest, most efficient way "out of town," nor do I think it would be the first thought of a perp who had either pre-planned this or done it on a whim. For anyone who is familiar with the CU area, if you're trying to think of the quickest way out of town you could continue north on Goodwin to University, go east on University to Lincoln, then get on 74 after traveling north on Lincoln for a few miles. If you're REALLY comfortable with the area like I am, you may even continue north on Goodwin all the way to Bradley, then take Bradley east to Lincoln, then you know the rest. Unless you're already on a north-south street like Neil or Prospect (which both have their own entrances to 74), your first inclination wouldn't be to go east to get to the interstate.

All of that being said, this latest news about the billboards is very interesting to me. They're seemingly wanting to phase out anything involving the Astra completely. Starting to wonder if that person was innocent in all of this or somehow the car didn't end up being involved after all. This case gets more and more complex each day!

Since the billboards will prominently feature her face doesn't that seem like she isn't being held hostage somewhere.

http://www.illinoishomepage.net/news/local-news/new-billboards-will-focus-on-yingying/753188626

 

[Elainera]

In the reference material it says police confirmed YZ has not left Champaign by bus, train, or other form of public transportation tools.

Thank you for pointing that out! Well that knocks a leg from my theory.