At the University of Illinois, authorities are asking for the public's help in the search for a visiting scholar from China who has been missing from the Urbana-Champaign campus since Friday.
University of Illinois scholar from China missing since Friday
26-year-old Yingying Zhang, a visiting student in the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, was last seen June 9 near the north end of campus. She had just gotten off a bus and was apparently on her way to an apartment complex in Urbana to sign a lease. Zhang's friends called police on Saturday when they couldn't get in touch with her and became concerned about her whereabouts.
University of Illinois Police released security camera footage showing a black Saturn Astra pulling up next to Zhang on the sidewalk just after 2:00 pm. She can be seen talking for several moments to the unidentified driver before getting into the vehicle. The car then drives way. She has not been seen or heard from since.
Police are asking for the public's assistance to identify the vehicle.
"The biggest thing right now is we are asking people to watch that video," said university police spokesman Patrick Wade told The Champaign News-Gazette. "Our hope is that someone will recognize the vehicle, or have some information about that encounter that we can follow up on."
Zhang was wearing a charcoal-gray hat with a white logo on the front, a white-and-pink flannel print long-sleeve shirt, a white undershirt, jeans, white shoes and a navy backpack. She has shoulder-length brown hair and wears glasses. The car was last seen heading north on Goodwin Avenue.
It's unknown whether Zhang was in danger, but university police say they are treating Zhang's disappearance as "a very urgent matter." Anyone with information about Zhang's possible whereabouts is asked to contact the UI police at (217) 333-1216 or police@illinois.du.
More here: Police seek information on car tied to missing UI scholar
