26-year-old Chinese student Zhang Yingying, originally from southeastern Fujian Province, has been missing for four days after last being seen in the US state of Illinois. 

University of Illinois police said in a statement that Zhang was last seen on Friday afternoon. Security footage released later on YouTube showed Zhang standing on the east side of Goodwin Avenue just after 2pm Friday, as a black Saturn Astra pulled up beside her. She and the driver spoke for some time before she got into the vehicle.

Local media said she had sent a text message that day saying that she was going to Urbana city to sign a lease on an apartment, but had not shown up. 

Her last phone activity was at 2.30pm the same day.

Police said they were working with ride-sharing programs like Uber and checking other reports of a black vehicle whose driver had invited other young women to get in. 

Police said on their website that they were “deeply concerned” and were treating the case as an urgent matter.

Zhang earned her master’s degree in Environmental Engineering from Peking University in Beijing in 2016. 

She was undertaking research at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s department of natural resources and environmental sciences for around a month and was staying in university accommodation, according to local media.