CHAMPAIGN, Illinois-- The family of missing University of Illinois student Yingying Zhang is hopeful after getting some good news from the F.B.I. But this piece of the puzzle has left them waiting for more answers.
Zhang's family has mixed emotions about the F.B.I.'s most recent update, that the car Zhang was last seen getting into 20 days ago was found. On one hand, they call it "a relief." Despite this piece of good news, a big question remains.
"Now the car is found, but where is YingYing?" Zhang's boyfriend Xiaolin Hou asks, continuing, "Yingying is not in the car, so what happened?"
Zhang's aunt, Liqin Ye, has questions, too. "How did it happen? Where is she now? Do you have any more [information]?"
The F.B.I., local law enforcement, and volunteers have joined the search for Zhang. But the family believes it's important they all get to know her.
They call Zhang a kind person, with a beautiful soul, who has so many dreams for her future.
Hou says Zhang's plan is "to be able to share what she knows and what she's learned and the knowledge she has with others. So her dream is to be a professor in higher education to share that knowledge."
The family says that love is all that's holding them together right now. They're finding comfort in sharing all the happy memories they've had with Zhang. And they say they're looking forward to more, as they wait for her to return.
Zhang was last seen on June 9th, on a security camera getting into a black Saturn Astra on the University of Illinois campus. The F.B.I. is offering a $10,000 reward for information about the case. And Champaign County Crime Stoppers is offering $40,000 to anyone with information leading to an arrest.