Yingying Zhang (December 21, 1990 - June 2017) was a Chinese visiting scholar at the University of Illinois.

Zhang is described by her friends and family as bright and studious, fun-loving and outgoing.

She plays the guitar and was the lead singer in a band called 'Cute Horse' at college in China. One of her favorite songs, is 'The Rose,' a hit in 1980 for American singer Bette Midler.

She was working in the University of Illinois' Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, researching photosynthesis and crop productivity at the time of her disappearance.

Her appointment as a visiting scholar runs through April 2018.

On June 9, 2017, Zhang was reported missing in Urbana, Illinois. She was captured on video surveillance getting into a black Saturn Astra at the corner of West Clark Street and North Goodwin Avenue at around 2:04 p.m. on that Friday evening.

Zhang was last seen wearing a charcoal-colored baseball hat, a pink and white top, jeans, and white tennis shoes.

She carried a black backpack.

Her friends stated that she had gone out to sign an apartment lease.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has labeled the case as kidnapping. At least four FBI agents are in Urbana working on the case.

They are examining cellphone records and working with ride-hailing companies to see if she may have called for a driver.

The FBI plans to post information about Zhang on billboards across Illinois, Indianapolis, and St. Louis.

A $10,000 reward is being offered for information that helps the bureau find her.

Champaign County Crime Stoppers has also offered a $40,000 reward in the case.

On June 20, 2017, Zhang's father, Ronggao, aunt, Liqin Ye, and boyfriend flew in from China to assist the FBI in the search. The family hopes to bring Zhang back to China with them and stay until they find her.

On June 27, 2017, the FBI announced that they have located the Saturn Astra seen on surveillance video. No other details were released.

On June 30, 2017, Brendt Christensen was arrested after he confessed to kidnapping and murdering Zhang, while he was under FBI surveillance.

A GoFundMe campaign created by the University of Illinois Community Credit Union to help Zhang's family with expenses has raised over $78,000 of the initial $30,000 goal.