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Police say they no longer think missing real estate agent Yanfei Bao is still alive, as they turn their investigation into a homicide inquiry.
At a press conference in Christchurch on Wednesday, Detective Inspector Nicola Reeves said police had received more than 170 pieces of information from the public since Bao, 44, went missing while door knocking for work a week ago.
While they no longer believed she was still alive, they were keeping an open mind about what happened and whether other people were involved.
A man has been charged with kidnapping Bao, a mother to a 9-year-old girl, and police are forensically examining a property in Trevor St, Hornby that she was due to show a prospective buyer through on the day she disappeared.
Peter Meecham/Stuff
The police dive squad searching the Halswell River, south of Christchurch, on Wednesday.
On Wednesday morning, police staff in two inflatable boats slowly worked their way along the Halswell River near Neills Rd, south-east of Lincoln, near Lake Ellesmere.
A man in a wetsuit at the rear of one of the boats was monitoring what appeared to be an underwater camera.
Police were also seen walking the edge of the river with a police dog.
A man who lived nearby told Stuff that police had told another resident that they’d tracked the movements of the kidnapping suspect along nearby roads through cellphone data.
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Yanfei Bao, 44, disappeared a week ago, and police have “grave concerns” for her safety.
Police searched the same stretch of water following the disappearance of Christchurch man Michael McGrath in 2017. David Benbow is accused of murdering McGrath, who remains missing.
The Halswell River is muddy brown and swollen after recent rain. Paddocks and ditches in the area are also flooded.
In Christchurch, police searched an area near Palmers Rd and the Avon River, New Brighton, on Wednesday morning.
Peter Meecham/Stuff
Police set up a base by the Halswell River.
In a statement, Detective Inspector Nicola Reeves said police were increasing their search activity in locations across the city as part of what remained a missing person investigation.
“We are keeping an open mind as to where Yanfei is and what may have happened to her, but we do have grave concerns at this time,” Reeves said.
“As such, we are considering all possible lines of enquiry and making every effort to locate her.”
Reeves said staff would also remain at the Trevor St property conducting a scene examination.
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The Christchurch real estate agent and mother hasn’t been seen for nearly a week.
While Trevor St residents spoken to by Stuff couldn’t recall seeing Bao last week, police are hoping CCTV cameras on various homes in the street captured her movements, and those of anyone involved in her disappearance.
However, at least two residents who live nearby believe they saw the alleged kidnapper’s silver Mitsubishi sedan, registration DPH101, parked in the street last week.
Julie Charnley said she was adamant she saw the vehicle parked on a slight angle on the side of the road about 100m from the Trevor St property for two days, but she couldn’t be sure exactly when.
On Tuesday morning, investigators paid close attention to two cameras on the front of the house next door to the Trevor St property, and appeared to be photographing an area of footpath where footage may have captured someone walking past.
Peter Meecham/Stuff
Police were searching a Trevor St property on Tuesday.
The 52-year-old man accused of kidnapping Bao was arrested on Saturday in the public area of Christchurch International Airport, with no bags and a one-way ticket to China.
He appeared in the Christchurch District Court on Monday where he was granted interim name suppression and remanded in custody.
Bao was last seen door knocking as part of her job in Vickerys Rd, Wigram, a five-minute drive from the Trevor St property, about 10.30am on Wednesday.
About 45 minutes later she rang her friend Jin Tian and had a four-minute conversation with her. During the conversation, Bao asked Tian how someone she was working with could transfer $600,000 (more than 2.6 million RMB) from China to pay cash for a house.
Peter Meecham/Stuff
Police forensically examine the home in Trevor St on Tuesday.
She was reported missing after she didn’t collect her daughter from after school care later that day.
Her car was found parked in Iroqouis Pl, less than 1km from where she was last seen in Vickerys Rd.
Two days later, police located her cellphone on the Southern Motorway, near Blakes Rd.
Police are focused on the movements of the accused man’s silver sedan, which had a distinctive yellow diamond sticker with a black kiwi on its boot, on Wednesday, June 19, and the two days after that, particularly in areas southwest of the city like Prebbleton and Tai Tapu.
Peter Meecham/Stuff
A police dog and handler search near the Halswell River.
They have appealed for sightings of the vehicle, which was found parked near Christchurch Airport on Saturday.
Anyone who saw the car or might have CCTV that captured it should contact police.
The alleged kidnapper had rented a room at a property in Bryndwr for about a month.
On Monday, a neighbour said the same silver car the police wanted information on was always at the property, but was not there on Wednesday or Thursday. However, it was parked across the driveway on Friday with the boot and doors open for several hours. It was gone the following day, she said.
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