A visiting Chinese researcher has been missing in the American state of Illinois for four days.
26-year-old Zhang Yingying from Fujian was last seen getting into a black car on Friday afternoon, after only a brief discussion with the driver. Police say they are working closely with ride sharing APP’s to get as much information as possible.
It has been reported that Ms. Zhang was on her way to sign a lease for an apartment when she went missing. Friends of Zhang alerted police of her disappearance later Friday afternoon after they failed to get in touch with her, saying she is a “smart and conscious girl” and “would never visit anyone alone”.
After catching the bus to a nearby area it is believed she then organised a private car to take her the rest of the way. Ms. Zhang had texted the landlord to say that she would be late before vanishing at 2pm in broad daylight. Police have said they are treating the case “very seriously” and are “deeply concerned”.
Zhang has a bachelor degree from Sun Yat-Sen University and a master’s degree from China’s prestigious Peking University in environmental engineering. She also assisted with research at the Institute of Botany at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and is in Illinois to assist with research at the Department of Natural Recourses and Environmental Sciences.
No information of Ms. Zhang’s whereabouts had been reported at the time of writing this article. Illinois police have posted security camera footage of Zhang entering the vehicle on YouTube.
