Family of missing female master's degree sends cry for help to President Trump

On August 22, the family of victim Zhang Yingying sent a cry for help to US President Donald Trump to find the whereabouts of the 26-year-old female master's degree holder.

In a letter sent in August, the victim's father, Zhang Ronggao, addressed US President Donald Trump. "With the love of a father for his children, you must understand what my family is going through. We earnestly request that you direct law enforcement agencies and investigation teams to find the whereabouts of my daughter as soon as possible," the letter said.

On August 22, at a press conference in the US, Hou Xialin, Zhang's boyfriend, also shared a call to find a female master.

Zhang Yingying's whereabouts remain a mystery. Photo: ABC.

A White House representative has not commented on the letter. Hou Xialin also confirmed that he and Zhang's family members will not return to China until the girl's body is found.

An online charity fund has raised more than $137,000 to support the victim’s family’s accommodation in the U.S. The case has attracted the attention of the Chinese government and media, as well as Chinese students studying in the U.S.

Zhang Yingying (26 years old) graduated from Sun Yat-sen University and received her master's degree from Peking University, China in 2016. Since April 2017, she has been an exchange scholar at the University of Illinois, USA.

The girl was last seen on June 9, getting into a black car near the school campus. Based on information and clues gathered, police suspect Zhang is dead, although her body has not been found.

In early July, Brendt Christensen, 29, was charged with kidnapping and murdering Zhang. He has always denied all charges. Christensen is scheduled to go on trial in September.

Christensen said he met Zhang on campus and offered her a ride. However, he quickly asked her to get out of the car after Zhang became alarmed when Christensen took a wrong turn.

In a phone interview on August 22, Anthony Bruno, Christensen’s attorney, confirmed that he received more than 1,000 pages of police reports in early August and hoped to soon have access to the video recording of Zhang getting into the car.

Bruno stressed that he would ask the court to delay the trial to review the evidence provided by the government. Justice Department spokeswoman Sharon Paul said prosecutors had not updated information on Zhang's whereabouts and declined to provide details about the FBI's search and investigation.

According to Zing.vn