I'm seeing an awful lot of reports of a driver in a black sedan trying to pick girls up in Urbana in the last few weeks. One thing to consider -- because so many students live around the campus, many of the cars around there are not registered to the area.
Deceased/Not Found IL - Yingying Zhang, 26, Urbana, 9 June 2017 #1 *Arrest*
- Thread starter Gardener1850
- Start date
New Posts
-
CA CA - Joshua Genaro Rivera, 13,*Deaf*, Palmdale, 26 Apr 2024
- Latest: imstilla.grandma
- Status
CluelessWonder
Former Member
- Joined
- Apr 21, 2013
- Messages
- 1,909
- Reaction score
- 4,492
If this guy has been "patrolling" around the campus area, perhaps his vehicle will be on some video at a gas station near the campus.
liltexans
Retired WS Staff
- Joined
- Jan 4, 2011
- Messages
- 13,451
- Reaction score
- 25,895
Our investigation continues to progress with assistance from the FBI and the Illinois State Police. This is a very complex search, and investigators are working hard to follow-up on a large amount of information. We will continue to post updates as there are developments.
http://police.illinois.edu/search-updates/
http://police.illinois.edu/search-updates/
- Joined
- May 15, 2013
- Messages
- 55,637
- Reaction score
- 192,214
I wonder why it's so complex? Glad to hear they have a lot of leads to follow up on.
liltexans
Retired WS Staff
- Joined
- Jan 4, 2011
- Messages
- 13,451
- Reaction score
- 25,895
According to police, Zhang boarded a Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District Teal line bus at 1:35 PM and got off at 1:52 PM at Springfield and Mathews avenues in Urbana, police said.
Police say she was on her way to the One North apartment complex on North Lincoln Avenue in Urbana to sign a lease.
http://coed.com/2017/06/15/yingying...llinois-info-details-updates-suspects-photos/
Police say she was on her way to the One North apartment complex on North Lincoln Avenue in Urbana to sign a lease.
http://coed.com/2017/06/15/yingying...llinois-info-details-updates-suspects-photos/
liltexans
Retired WS Staff
- Joined
- Jan 4, 2011
- Messages
- 13,451
- Reaction score
- 25,895
Safety concerns rise over missing student
"The FBI has been involved, which is routine in missing persons cases," Patrick Wade, communications director of the UIUC Police Department, told China Daily. "But that they have identified the plate number is incorrect information, which gained traction on social media."
"The FBI has been involved, which is routine in missing persons cases," Patrick Wade, communications director of the UIUC Police Department, told China Daily. "But that they have identified the plate number is incorrect information, which gained traction on social media."
liltexans
Retired WS Staff
- Joined
- Jan 4, 2011
- Messages
- 13,451
- Reaction score
- 25,895
The suspect is a white man who circled the area in the car that afternoon before stopping to talk to Zhang, the US law enforcement agency said.
Urbana is a city in Champaign County, Illinois, with a population of just over 41,000.
The Chinese consulate general in Chicago has been in touch with the police, her college and Zhang’s parents, helping them get an emergency visa to come to the United States, the China Daily reported.
The newspaper also reported that Zhang’s boyfriend, Hou Xiaolin, was working to raise awareness about his girlfriend’s disappearance.
“I wish the search process in the US could be faster,” Hou was quoted as saying. “Everything is moving too slow.”
Robin Huang at the Chinese Students and Scholars Association said the group was using all its resources to help find her.
“We really hope that we can make it faster and we really hope the girl is safe,” Huang told the local news website Illinoishomepage.net.
People using the social media site Reddit have discussed previous occasions when a man in a black sedan approached a girl in the same area.
http://www.scmp.com/news/china/soci...earance-chinese-student-us-treated-kidnapping
Urbana is a city in Champaign County, Illinois, with a population of just over 41,000.
The Chinese consulate general in Chicago has been in touch with the police, her college and Zhang’s parents, helping them get an emergency visa to come to the United States, the China Daily reported.
The newspaper also reported that Zhang’s boyfriend, Hou Xiaolin, was working to raise awareness about his girlfriend’s disappearance.
“I wish the search process in the US could be faster,” Hou was quoted as saying. “Everything is moving too slow.”
Robin Huang at the Chinese Students and Scholars Association said the group was using all its resources to help find her.
“We really hope that we can make it faster and we really hope the girl is safe,” Huang told the local news website Illinoishomepage.net.
People using the social media site Reddit have discussed previous occasions when a man in a black sedan approached a girl in the same area.
http://www.scmp.com/news/china/soci...earance-chinese-student-us-treated-kidnapping
AmandaSkis
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Sep 25, 2015
- Messages
- 1,096
- Reaction score
- 7,954
Not being familiar with the area, do any locals know if her location makes sense? For example, where she was standing when the back car pulled up, would she have been on a correct route to the apartment?
CluelessWonder
Former Member
- Joined
- Apr 21, 2013
- Messages
- 1,909
- Reaction score
- 4,492
Well, she went north on the bus about two miles. She got off at a stop in a very busy area on Springfield Avenue. The engineering and computer science campus is right there along with some dorms. If someone knew her, they may have spotted her in this area.
She walked a few blocks east on Springfield and then north on Goodwin Avenue. I'm not sure how far she went on Goodwin before she was picked up. But the distance from the intersection of Springfield/Goodwin and the apartment complex is about one mile. So she didn't have far to go and would have been to the complex somewhere around 2:15 give or take a few minutes. I don't know what time she was supposed to be there. But she called at 1:30 saying she would be late. At that point, she wasn't even on the bus yet. So maybe 1:30 was the original meeting time.
She walked a few blocks east on Springfield and then north on Goodwin Avenue. I'm not sure how far she went on Goodwin before she was picked up. But the distance from the intersection of Springfield/Goodwin and the apartment complex is about one mile. So she didn't have far to go and would have been to the complex somewhere around 2:15 give or take a few minutes. I don't know what time she was supposed to be there. But she called at 1:30 saying she would be late. At that point, she wasn't even on the bus yet. So maybe 1:30 was the original meeting time.
She also crossed Goodwin to the east side, which seems to indicate she was planning to take a northbound bus. In the video, she was standing waiting rather than walking when the black car approached.
CluelessWonder
Former Member
- Joined
- Apr 21, 2013
- Messages
- 1,909
- Reaction score
- 4,492
I haven't watched the video yet. But I did see where the video camera was located. It was around University and North Goodwin. So she walked one block and 3-4 blocks north after getting off the bus. From there, it's actually 1.4 miles to One North. So a ride would make sense to a lot of people. I wonder if she had cash on her.
- Joined
- May 15, 2013
- Messages
- 55,637
- Reaction score
- 192,214
The FBI is putting up billboard messages across the state and beyond about Yingying Zhang. The FBI has an agreement with Adams Outdoor Advertising, and the plan is to post information about Zhang on billboards from the Quad Cities and Chicago to Indianapolis and St. Louis
The FBI has labeled the case a kidnapping but investigators haven't ruled anything out.
Investigators are also looking into reports of a black vehicle whose driver invited other young women into the car. They've talked to one person who reported a similar encounter in another west Urbana neighborhood in early June.
As of Wednesday evening, they hadn't identified information about the car or the driver. The license-plate number wasn't legible in the video.
Police are still reviewing security camera footage "to see if the car pops up anywhere else on campus." Police asked any individuals who may have dash-cams in their cars to check the footage to see if they may have caught the car driving around town.
http://www.news-gazette.com/news/local/2017-06-15/fbi-joins-search-missing-ui-scholar.html
The FBI has labeled the case a kidnapping but investigators haven't ruled anything out.
Investigators are also looking into reports of a black vehicle whose driver invited other young women into the car. They've talked to one person who reported a similar encounter in another west Urbana neighborhood in early June.
As of Wednesday evening, they hadn't identified information about the car or the driver. The license-plate number wasn't legible in the video.
Police are still reviewing security camera footage "to see if the car pops up anywhere else on campus." Police asked any individuals who may have dash-cams in their cars to check the footage to see if they may have caught the car driving around town.
http://www.news-gazette.com/news/local/2017-06-15/fbi-joins-search-missing-ui-scholar.html
liltexans
Retired WS Staff
- Joined
- Jan 4, 2011
- Messages
- 13,451
- Reaction score
- 25,895
Zhang, originally from southeastern China, arrived in the U.S. in late April as part of a yearlong appointment to collaborate on faculty research in the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, university spokeswoman Robin Kaler said.
Police are interviewing Zhang's friends and colleagues, searching area surveillance footage, checking local hospitals and coordinating with area ride-hailing companies as part of their investigation. Authorities also are looking into reports of a black vehicle whose driver invited other women into the car, police said.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/...cholar-20170614-story.html?platform=hootsuite
Police are interviewing Zhang's friends and colleagues, searching area surveillance footage, checking local hospitals and coordinating with area ride-hailing companies as part of their investigation. Authorities also are looking into reports of a black vehicle whose driver invited other women into the car, police said.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/...cholar-20170614-story.html?platform=hootsuite
inmyhumbleopinion
#NeverGivingUp
- Joined
- Apr 30, 2013
- Messages
- 5,336
- Reaction score
- 32,712
After seeing UIPD's comment about the search being complex, honestly, the first thing that came to my mind was that perhaps the vehicle Yingying got into had stolen plates. My reasoning for that was because as posted by others, the model of the car appears to be quite rare -produced only for two years- and thus current registered owners should be relatively easily identified, yet no statement has been in this regard has been made at least publicly, leading me to believe that the vehicle had been stolen and plates switched.
Maybe the car is actually registered in another state but now with plates that are registered and have been stolen in IL. In this scenario, it's quite possible that the out-of-state-registered vehicle belongs to someone affiliated with UI who is from out of state or abroad, and LE has most likely identified the legitimate owner, but unless there is a clear image that shows the perp in possession of it -and if LE has found such footage, I'm sure they have released it by now-, it would be extremely difficult to find the driver, IMO. It's also possible the perp already had a second set of stolen plates even before kidnapping Yingying for post-abduction purposes.
So hopefully, someone in the community -though it's also possible that the perp is based nowhere near UI, or has no connection to the university- will contact LE about someone who, uncharastristicly, disappeared for an extended period of time beginning around the time Yingying went missing or has been gone since. If the perp is a student, especially, it would be very easy to use a visit home or a research trip as an excuse, however, and I'm afraid Yingying's story hasn't reached wherever he may be by now. I also hope that even with incorrect plates, with the issuance of the FBI notice, a LEO will notice the vehicle, and/or there will be some kind of location information obtained from her phone.
Right now, I feel that the set-up of the crime was carefully planned, but Yingying was likely picked out randomly, other than that the perp was perhaps looking for someone not very familiar with the US culture and a non-native speaker of English, thus spending some time talking to her before luring her into his vehicle.
I feel that time is of the essence here.
- Joined
- May 15, 2013
- Messages
- 55,637
- Reaction score
- 192,214
I cant open the links. Do we know how many other females (only females?) were asked to get in this black car? And if so did they feel weird and refuse? Can they give a description of the driver? This does not sound like a legit ride share kind of thing.
That's part of the issue with me with Uber and Lyft etc. They have regular looking cars, right? (IIRC) At least with a yellow or some colored car with letters on it you kind of know it is a real cab.
This reminds me of Natalee Holloway who probably thought she was getting into a cab in Aruba. The cabs there and in the Bahamas (back when I was there) were unmarked and looked like regular cars and there could be AYNYONE driving.
Also, the fact that the car was circling the area is disturbing
That's part of the issue with me with Uber and Lyft etc. They have regular looking cars, right? (IIRC) At least with a yellow or some colored car with letters on it you kind of know it is a real cab.
This reminds me of Natalee Holloway who probably thought she was getting into a cab in Aruba. The cabs there and in the Bahamas (back when I was there) were unmarked and looked like regular cars and there could be AYNYONE driving.
Also, the fact that the car was circling the area is disturbing
- Status