The family of missing Chinese scholar Yingying Zhang has increased the amount of reward money for information about her location.
By the time they arrested a suspect for her kidnapping, authorities had come to believe that Yingying Zhang was dead. But the family and boyfriend of the visiting scholar at the University of Illinois have not given up hope that she is still alive. At a news conference, Xiaolin Hou spoke of his girlfriend in the present tense.
“Yingying is our pride and joy. She is smart, hardworking, brave and kind. Her dream is to complete her education and return to China and become a university professor.”
The Zhang family has raised its maximum reward offer to $50,000 for anonymous tips submitted to Champaign Crimestoppers that lead to Yingying’s return.