$50,000 in rewards offered in hunt for Chinese scholar

A local CrimeStoppers chapter in Illinois offered a reward of $40,000, while the US Federal Bureau of Investigation offered $10,000, on Monday for information leading to the arrest of any individual involved in the apparent kidnapping of 26-year-old Zhang Yingying, a visiting Chinese scholar at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

It is the largest reward that Champaign County CrimeStoppers has ever offered in its 31-year history, according to the group’s president, John Hecker, at a news conference at the university’s Illinois Fire Service Institute.

The reward money was raised through individual donations and is administered by CrimeStoppers, a nonprofit organization not affiliated with the police.

CrimeStoppers is offering the $40,000 for information about the location of Zhang with no strings attached, which means it will allow the tipster to keep their identity hidden from the public.

“We have no way of knowing or tracing who is submitting information via our P3 mobile app, our website or phone line,” Hecker said. “We’ve gone to great lengths to assure that.”

The second reward of $10,000 from the FBI for the location of Zhang, Special Agent Brad Ware told reporters.

To get the $10,000, the person who submits the tip may be called upon to testify in court, Ware said.

Zhang was last seen on June 9 near the north end of the campus, wearing a charcoalcolored baseball cap, a pink and white top, jeans and white tennis shoes. She was carrying a black backpack.

Zhang went missing after getting into a black Saturn Astra car about five blocks from where she got off a bus in Urbana as she was apparently heading to an apartment complex to sign a lease.

“We do have a full team of people reviewing video,” Ware said.

Zhang’s father arrived at the campus on Saturday. According to the university, apartments have been provided for Zhang’s family. The Chinese Student Scholars Association is providing meals.