Supporters Stop Where Scholar Last Seen in Illinois

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — University of Illinois students and others from the wider community gathered at the Urbana-Champaign campus to show support for a Chinese scholar who disappeared three weeks ago.

Thursday’s event started at the Krannert Center when participants walked to a bus stop where 26-year-old Yingying Zhang was last seen. She got into a black car and hasn’t been seen since. The FBI announced this week the car had been found, but it provided no detail.

After the walk, the Jasmine Fields Orchestra performed at the center. One of the organizers is the Chinese Students and Scholars Association. Some 5,600 Chinese are enrolled at U of I.

Zhang is the daughter of a factory driver in China and has been doing research in the agricultural sciences.