Professor Lance Cooper, associate head of graduate programs in the department of physics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, discusses former student Brendt Christensen on July 1, 2017. Christensen has been charged with allegedly kidnapping Yingying Zhang, a visiting scholar at the university who disappeared three weeks ago and now is presumed dead. (Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune) 
 
 Professor Lance Cooper, associate head of graduate programs in the department of physics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, discusses former student Brendt Christensen on July 1, 2017. Christensen has been charged with allegedly kidnapping Yingying Zhang, a visiting scholar at the university who disappeared three weeks ago and now is presumed dead. (Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune) 
 
 Federal authorities have arrested and charged a 28-year-old man with kidnapping Yingying Zhang, a visiting scholar at the University of Illinois who disappeared three weeks ago and now is presumed dead. Brendt Christensen, a former Ph.D. candidate who had studied physics at the university, was arrested late Friday, according to a news release from the Department of Justice. A federal complaint also was filed Friday in the Central District of Illinois accusing him of kidnapping Zhang from the Urbana-Champaign campus the afternoon of June 9. Christensen's former academic advisor, professor Lance Cooper, associate head for graduate programs in the Department of Physics, was part of the committee that admitted Christensen to the program in fall 2013. "Nobody saw this coming," Cooper said Saturday. Zhang, 26, arrived at the University of Illinois in late April to contribute to research in the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences. Her appointment as a scholar was through April 2018. She originally was from Nanping, a small city in the Fujian province in southeast China; a university spokeswoman, Robin Kaler, said Zhang was considering entering a doctoral program at U. of I. Tina Chu, acting executive director of the Chinese-American Museum of Chicago, said Zhang’s father, boyfriend and aunt came from China to Illinois during the search. Chu met the family and helped translate for them at a vigil held in Chinatown on June 24, and described them as “good, hardworking people.” They had a very positive attitude that they would find Yingying, Chu said. Chu has not seen the family since then, but said the news must be devastating. Students at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign react July 1, 2017, to the alleged kidnapping of visiting scholar Yingying Zhang. (Abel Uribe/Chicago Tribune) Students at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign react July 1, 2017, to the alleged kidnapping of visiting scholar Yingying Zhang. (Abel Uribe/Chicago Tribune) SEE MORE VIDEOS “This is their hope,” she said. “I don’t know how they’re going to take it.” “It is scary, shocking news for the Chinese in China,” she said. “People are talking, saying, ‘You’ve got to be careful, watch out for your safety.’ It makes us feel really insecure.” Some 5,600 Chinese are enrolled at U. of I., more than at any other U.S. college, according to government data. "This is a senseless and devastating loss of a promising young woman and a member of our community," U. of I. Chancellor Robert Jones said in a statement. "There is nothing we can do to ease the sadness or grief for her family and friends, but we can and we will come together to support them in any way we can in these difficult days ahead." The day she disappeared, Zhang was at Turner Hall, where she conducted her research, between 8:30 a.m. and around 12:30 p.m., according to the affidavit. She then went back to her apartment for lunch, authorities say. Zhang left shortly after, heading to a different apartment complex in Urbana to sign a lease. She texted the building manager around 1:39 p.m. to say she was running late, according to the affidavit, and planned to arrive around 2:10 p.m. University of Illinois police say they believe Yingying Zhang, 26, has been killed. A 28-year-old Champaign man has been charged with the Chinese scholar's kidnapping at the University of Illinois. University of Illinois police say they believe Yingying Zhang, 26, has been killed. A 28-year-old Champaign man has been charged with the Chinese scholar's kidnapping at the University of Illinois. SEE MORE VIDEOS Video showed Zhang boarding a Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District bus around 1:35 p.m. She took the Teal line bus from Orchard Downs and exited at West Springfield and North Mathews avenues at 1:52 p.m., police said. Four minutes later, Zhang was seen on video trying to flag down another MTD bus, but it passed her without stopping. The affidavit states the bus was a Limited Line bus and probably did not stop because Zhang was standing on the wrong side of the street to board. Unable to catch the bus, Zhang walked north to the intersection of North Goodwin Avenue and West Clark Street, where she stood at another designated MTD bus stop on the southeast corner. According to the MTD website, the Goodwin and Clark stop is designated for the Illini Limited weekday daytime route, which runs only during university breaks and summer sessions. Around 2 p.m., a black Saturn Astra, which authorities say was driven by Christensen, was seen on surveillance video from a nearby building driving east on West University Avenue, then turning onto Goodwin and then to Clark Street, past where Zhang was standing. The Astra then reappeared on surveillance video driving west on West Main Street, then turning back onto Goodwin. Authorities previously said the car appeared to be circling the area before approaching Zhang. Minutes later, the car pulled off to the side of the road where Zhang was standing. Video from a parking garage across the street showed Zhang speaking with the driver for about a minute before she got into the front passenger seat, authorities say. The car then continued driving north on Goodwin Avenue. Zhang was not seen or heard from after that, police said. The apartment manager texted her at 2:38 p.m. and got no response, according to the affidavit. This undated photo provided by the University of Illinois Police Department shows Yingying Zhang, a scholar visiting from China, who has been missing since June 9, 2017, and is now presumed dead. A recent U. of I. graduate has been charged with her kidnapping. This undated photo provided by the University of Illinois Police Department shows Yingying Zhang, a scholar visiting from China, who has been missing since June 9, 2017, and is now presumed dead. A recent U. of I. graduate has been charged with her kidnapping. An associate professor reported Zhang missing to U. of I. police at 9:24 p.m. A responding officer spoke to the professor and several of Zhang’s friends, all of whom said they knew she was heading to sign the apartment lease but had not been able to contact her for several hours. The officer went to Zhang’s current apartment, which was locked and vacant, the affidavit states. Police determined that there were 18 four-door Saturn Astras registered in Champaign County, one of which was in Christensen’s name. Police went to Christensen's home the night of June 12 and asked him where he was when Zhang was last seen June 9. Christensen initially said he could not remember, then told police he was either sleeping or playing video games all day. Police searched the car but did not locate or take anything from it, the affidavit states. On June 14, police noted in the surveillance footage that the Astra had a sunroof and a cracked hubcap on the front passenger side. Authorities returned to Christensen’s home in the 2500 block of West Springfield Avenue and saw that his Astra also had a cracked hubcap consistent with what police saw in the footage. Police, who had previously noted that Christensen’s car also had a large sunroof, determined that his was the vehicle seen in the surveillance, the affidavit states. Macon County Sheriff's Office via AP Brendt Christensen, 28, of Champaign, Ill. Brendt Christensen, 28, of Champaign, Ill. (Macon County Sheriff's Office via AP) (Macon County Sheriff's Office via AP) Authorities interviewed Christensen on June 15 while the FBI and U. of I. police searched his car. In the interview, Christensen admitted to driving around the U. of I. campus when he saw an Asian woman standing at the corner, looking distressed, the affidavit states. Christensen said he drove up to her and offered her a ride after she said she was late to an appointment. The woman then tried to show Christensen where she needed to go through the map on her phone. Christensen claimed he made a wrong turn at some point and the woman panicked, then he let her out of his car a few blocks from where he picked her up, the affidavit states. 
 
 Authorities also searched Christensen’s home and seized electronics, including his phone, according to the affidavit. The phone’s search history revealed visits to a bondage and sadomasochism fetish website called FetLife and a forum called "Abduction 101," as well as subthreads titled “Perfect abduction fantasy” and "planning a kidnapping," according to the affidavit. The searches to those websites had occurred several weeks before the alleged abduction, around April 19, authorities wrote in the affidavit. In a search of the car, authorities discovered that the front passenger side where Zhang would have been sitting "appeared to have been cleaned to a more diligent extent than the other vehicle doors," the affidavit states, adding that investigators believed this was done to conceal evidence. Authorities began surveilling Christensen on June 16. On June 29, police heard him say on an audio recording that he kidnapped Zhang, brought her back to his apartment and held her in his apartment against her will, according to the affidavit. "Based on this, and other facts uncovered during the investigation of this matter, law enforcement does not believe (Zhang) is still alive," the affidavit states. Federal authorities listed Christensen as 27, but the federal complaint gives his birthday as June 30, which would make him 28 as of Friday. He is scheduled to appear in federal court in Urbana on Monday morning. Bin Xu, 22, a senior from Zhejiang, China, who is studying statistics, said he wished the school would emphasize safety to international students who may be disoriented from being in a new country and naive to potential dangers. Orientations are in English, which can be hard for international students to understand, and Xu said the school forgets how hard it is for students to simply get around the large campus. Xu recalled a time when he was confused about how to get across campus on a particularly snowy day. He said he walked on the street that night to avoid slipping on the ice on the sidewalk and became exasperated to the point where he would have accepted a ride from a stranger. “You shouldn’t be blaming Yingying Zhang for riding in someone’s car,” Xu said in Mandarin. “The school also can’t run away from this. The school’s responsibility is huge. I feel really sorry for Yingying Zhang’s parents.” Zhang's boyfriend has said that she was cautious and wouldn't normally get into a car with a stranger unless duped or forced. Brendt Christensen affidavit (PDF) Brendt Christensen affidavit (Text) Zhang graduated last year with a master's degree in environmental engineering from one of China's elite schools, Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School. She had been doing research on crop photosynthesis, which included using drones to study fields, the university's communications office has said. Those who knew Zhang described her as bright and outgoing. She played guitar and sang in a band called Cute Horse in China. One of her favorite songs was "The Rose," a hit in 1980 for Bette Midler. Zhang's aunt recently told CNN that her niece had ambitions of becoming a professor in her home country. "To be a faculty member in China, there are certain qualifications you have to meet, and as part of that you have to have broad experience in terms of your research and your study," Liqin Ye recalled her niece saying. "And that's probably what motivated her to want to come to the United States." Christensen, similarly, was following a path in academia until he changed course a little more than a year ago. As Christensen’s advisor, Cooper went over his school record and charted out the courses he was to take. Cooper said he didn’t interact with Christensen on a regular basis after the initial semester until spring 2016, when Christensen had a meeting with him to drop out of the Ph.D. program and pursue a master’s degree instead. “Christensen earned a master's degree from the (physics) program in May of 2017 and his affiliation with the department ended that same month,” said Kaler, the university spokeswoman. Christensen also taught introductory courses and discussion sections for four semesters and one summer course. “He was completely normal, there were no complaints about his teaching,” Cooper said. “He was on the excellent teaching list, so he was well-reviewed by his students.” No disciplinary issues were reported about him, and he never had issues showing up for class or getting assignments in on time, Cooper said. “There was nothing remarkable about him as far as I could see,” Cooper said. On what appears to be his LinkedIn page, Christensen described himself as a Ph.D. candidate at U. of I. since January 2014, researching experimental condensed matter physics. Cooper said Christensen mentioned in spring 2016 that he was married and that he and his wife were going to use the next year to decide what their plans were while he completed his master’s program. Christensen worked briefly in a condensed matter physics group, which studied materials and their exotic properties, but transitioned out of that when he dropped his Ph.D. “He never gave any personal reasons,” Cooper said. “I just got the impression that the Ph.D. program was not what he thought it would be and that this was no longer his goal. He didn’t speak about any personal issues.” Cooper said he was shocked when he heard news about Christensen's arrest and said that members of his graduate-level physics class seemed to share that reaction. They had a meeting scheduled for Sunday to brainstorm ideas for sharing their condolences with Zhang's family. Also according to Christensen's LinkedIn page, he received a bachelor of science degree with honors in physics, as well as a degree in mathematics from the University of Wisconsin at Madison, where he was in the Physics Club. The page also describes him as a graduate teaching assistant in physics at U. of I. from 2013 until the present, overseeing about 20 students. Christensen described himself on the page this way: "I am a Ph.D. candidate in experimental condensed matter physics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Currently, I fabricate nanoscale-level devices and perform electrical measurements on them in order to discover new things about mesoscopic physics. These measurements are done with a variety of devices; most notably probe stations and cryogenic systems. Along the way, I utilize an assortment of programs and skills, such as Python, LabVIEW, electron-beam lithography, atomic force microscopy, and much more." Sarah Manzella, 20, who lives in the same apartment complex as Christensen, which is made up of multiple buildings with a central parking lot, said she could not have imagined living so close to the person eventually arrested in connection with Zhang's disappearance. 

 Investigators now believe a Chinese student who vanished from campus at the University of Illinois is dead. An Illinois man has been arrested in the case. (Photo: Holly Hart/The News-Gazette via AP; Video: Reuters) 
 
 Yingying Zhang sent a message to the manager of the apartment she hoped to move into: She was on her way to sign the lease but running late. 
 
 But as the afternoon of June 9 wore on, the visiting scholar at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign kept falling behind as she used city buses to get to her appointment. 
 
 Just before 2 p.m., minutes before she was supposed to sign the rental agreement, the Chinese student missed a bus she tried to flag down near campus, court documents say. She walked to another bus stop, and appeared “distressed.” 
 
 Around that time, a man drove up in a black Saturn Astra with a cracked hubcap and a sunroof. Zhang talked to him through the passenger window for a minute — an exchange that was recorded by nearby surveillance cameras — then opened the door and got in. 
 
 She disappeared after that, authorities said, and didn’t answer calls when fellow students, professors and the apartment manager called. 
 
 Now, authorities believe she is dead. 
 
 The driver of the Astra is Brendt Christensen, 28, federal authorities say. He has been charged with Zhang’s kidnapping. 
 
 The investigation unearthed another detail: Christensen had read up on abducting someone using the fetish-oriented social networking website “FetLife.” Particularly, FBI agents say, he frequented a forum called “Abduction 101.” Some of its sub threads include “abduction fantasy” and “planning a kidnapping.” 
 
 The website bills itself as a place for users to connect with other people interested in bondage, sadomasochism and more obscure sexual fetish fantasies. 
 
 A search of Christensen’s phone showed he’d visited the site in April, FBI agents say. 
 
 Representatives for Fetlife did not respond to an email message seeking comment Saturday. But the “Abduction 101” section had a new topic: “Brendt Christensen.” 
 
 In court documents, investigators say they presume Zhang is dead, but they have not said what led them to that conclusion. No murder charges have been filed. Christensen remained in jail early Saturday and it was unclear if he had hired an attorney. 
 
 Christensen earned a master’s degree from U of I’s physics program in May, but has no current affiliation with the university, a school spokeswoman told the Chicago Tribune. 
 
 On Friday, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Chancellor Robert Jones said the news that Zhang is believed to be dead had saddened the campus community. 
 
 “They have made an arrest, and now it is time for us as a university community to come together in support of her family and friends in this difficult time of loss,” he said. 
 
 “There will be time for justice and for explanations in the days and weeks ahead. But in this moment, I ask each of you to keep her family in your thoughts and to make our collective focus a celebration of Yingying Zhang’s life.” 
 
 Zhang had graduated last year with a master’s degree in environmental engineering from one of China’s elite schools, Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School, according to the Associated Press. She was expected to start work on her doctorate this fall. 
 
 Her research focused on crop photosynthesis. She used drones to study fields. 
 
 Zhang’s disappearance galvanized the Chinese Students and Scholars Association at the University of Illinois to help locate her, while also unnerving families of international students, concerned for their children’s safety. 
 
 According to the Associated Press, some 5,600 Chinese students are enrolled at the university, more than at any U.S. college. Nationwide, 300,000 Chinese students are enrolled as U.S. colleges. 
 
 After Zhang went missing, investigators homed in on Illinois residents who owned Saturn Astras, court documents say. 
 
 They found an Astra in the parking lot outside Christensen’s apartment about a week after Zhang disappeared. He was interviewed twice by agents with the Champaign FBI office. 
 
 At first he couldn’t recall where he’d been when Zhang disappeared, then he said he must have been sleeping all day or playing video games at the time, court documents said. 
 
 But during the second interview, he said he had actually made contact with an Asian woman that day. She was wearing a backpack and standing on a corner appearing distressed. 
 
 Christensen told the investigators the woman said she was late to an appointment, and he offered her a ride. She used her cellphone to show him where she was going, but after that things soured, according to the court documents. 
 
 “Christensen claimed that he believed he made a wrong turn, because the female became panicked, at which point Christensen claimed that he let her out of the vehicle in a residential area a few blocks away from where he picked her up.” 
 
 But investigators were suspicious about his story as they searched Christensen’s car and his phone. 
 
 The front passenger side of the Saturn Astra, an agent said in the court documents, “appeared to have been cleaned to a more diligent extent than the other vehicle doors … I believe that this type of action may be indicative of an attempt to conceal or destroy evidence.” 
 
 Authorities told The Chicago Tribune that the car appeared to be circling the area before Zhang’s abduction, a detail that court documents said is backed up by surveillance video. It shows the Astra passing Zhang, then turning and circling the block before slowing and coming to a stop in front of her. 
 
 Investigators had also placed Christensen under surveillance after they interviewed him in mid-June, according to court documents. They captured an audio recording of him talking about kidnapping Zhang, bringing her back to his apartment and holding her against her will. 
 
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 (CNN) A man has been arrested in connection with the disappearance of a visiting Chinese graduate student last seen June 9 on the University of Illinois campus, the US attorney's office for Central Illinois said Friday. 
 
 Investigators with the FBI think the student, Yingying Zhang, 26 , is probably dead, a news release from the attorney's office said. 
 
 Brendt Christensen, 27, of Champaign, Illinois, will face a charge of kidnapping, the news release said. 
 
 Christensen was under surveillance Thursday when agents overheard him saying he kidnapped Zhang, a criminal complaint says. Christensen said he took Zhang back to his apartment, the complaint adds. 
 
 "Based on this, and other facts uncovered during the investigation of this matter, law enforcement agents believe that Ms. Zhang is no longer alive," the statement from the US attorney's office and FBI said, without offering further details. 
 
 The court document also says a search of the suspect's car revealed the front passenger door, next to where Zhang would have been sitting, was cleaned to a "more diligent extent." 
 
 The FBI says Christensen was driving the black Saturn Astra that was captured on security camera video picking up Zhang the afternoon of June 9. 
 
 She was shown entering the front passenger side of the vehicle, which then drove away. 
 
 On June 15, Christensen admitted picking up Zhang, the complaint says, but he told the FBI that day her let her out just a few blocks away. 
 
 "Our thoughts are with Yingying's family, loved ones. Please support fellow community members tonight," police at the University of Illinois said 
 
 Also in the criminal complaint is the allegation that Christensen had used his phone in April to visit online forums with titles such as "Abduction 101," "Perfect abduction fantasy," and "planning a kidnapping." 
 
 Accusations surprise people on campus 
 
 Christensen was a graduate student in the physics department and a teaching assistant until May, a University of Illinois professor told CNN. 
 
 Brendt Christensen in a photo posted to Facebook on April 12. 
 
 "Everybody is shocked by this," said Lance Cooper, an associate head for graduate studies in the department. "There were no flags, no discipline issues with him, no problem with his teaching, no problems with his coursework." 
 
 Cooper said he didn't think Christensen would have had any academic interactions with Zhang, who came to the United States within the past two months. 
 
 David Meldgin, a teaching assistant in the physics department, said he had an office next door to Christensen for two years but they spoke only a few times. 
 
 "He was a quiet person in meetings, but he always helped students who needed help." Meldgin said. "I'm really surprised." 
 
 Concern in China 
 
 There are more than 300,000 Chinese students and scholars attending US universities. Zhang's disappearance triggered widespread concern in China, with discussion of the case dominating both social and traditional media. 
 
 Zhang had a year-long position at the university's department of natural resources and environmental sciences. She graduated from Beijing's prestigious Peking University last year with a master's degree in environmental engineering, according to a department webpage. 
 
 Christensen's first court appearance is at 10 a.m. Monday in federal court in Urbana. It is unclear whether Christensen, who is still in custody, has an attorney.
– Authorities believe a Chinese grad student missing in Illinois is dead, abducted by a man who researched kidnappings on a fetish website, CNN reports. Yingying Zhang, 26, was last seen on surveillance video June 9 getting into a black Saturn Astra on the University of Illinois campus. According to the Chicago Tribune, investigators focused on the Astra, which video showed appeared to be circling the area at the time. The Astra led them to 28-year-old Brendt Christensen, who drove a matching car. In his first interview, authorities say Christensen said he was sleeping or playing video games around the time Zhang was picked up, the Washington Post reports. But during the second interview, he admitted to picking up an Asian woman around that time because she looked "distressed." He said he dropped her off a few blocks away. Investigators say the passenger door of Christensen's Astra was cleaned to a "more diligent extent" than the rest of the car. They set up surveillance on Christensen, and allegedly recorded him Thursday saying he kidnapped Zhang and held her against her will in his apartment. He's been charged with kidnapping, though no murder charges have been filed. Authorities haven't said what leads them to believe Zhang is dead. Investigators say Christensen's phone shows he visited forums with names like "Abduction 101" and "planning a kidnapping" on a social networking site focused on fetishes. Zhang graduated from China's Peking University last year with a master's degree in environmental engineering and was continuing her education in Illinois.