[ad_1]
Peter Meecham/Stuff
Police and emergency staff search a private pond near the corner of Davidson and Hudson roads in Ellesmere, south of Christchurch, while they continue the search for missing real estate agent Yanfei Bao.
Police are searching for Yanfei Bao at a farm property where a pond has been drained, near the same area investigators visited two weeks ago.
Detective Inspector Nicola Reeves confirmed search teams were on a property between Hudson’s and Davidson’s Rd, in Greenpark, 30 minutes south of Christchurch, on Friday morning.
Fire engines are also on site at the farm.
ALDEN WILLIAMS/Stuff
Police are back in the area they were seen searching two weeks ago.
Reeves confirmed a pond had been drained on the property, but said it had not been drained by Fire and Emergency Services.
The search for Bao had previously been paused while police prepared to search “further areas of interest”, but it appears to have intensified around the Greenpark area.
Bao, 44, disappeared on July 19. She was last seen just before 10am that day in the Christchurch suburb of Hornby.
Peter Meecham/Stuff
Officers were seen combing the area on Friday morning.
On Monday, Reeves said police had “temporarily paused” the search for Bao while “further areas of interest can be prepared for search activity”.
The alarm was first raised after Bao failed to pick up her daughter from school on July 19. By the following morning, about 40 police officers were searching the Trevor St area where she was last seen.
Specialist search teams have focused on the area of Greenpark, near Lincoln, while the police dive squad searched Horseshoe Lake in Burwood, Christchurch.
ALDEN WILLIAMS/Stuff
Detective Inspector Nicola Reeves confirmed a pond had been drained on the property they are searching.
The search was suspended last Monday, August 7, to allow police to “take stock of where they’re at”. On Tuesday detectives began “reassessing” the case, before pausing it again this week.
A 52-year-old man, linked to a property deal Bao was negotiating, was arrested at Christchurch Airport with no bags and a one-way ticket to Shanghai. He was charged with kidnapping.
The man, who doesn’t speak English, entered a plea of not guilty to the charge of murder and kidnapping in his second court appearance on August 15.
Supplied
Yanfei Bao was a promising real estate agent. Police believe she is no longer alive.
He was remanded in custody to appear at the Christchurch High Court on September 1.
A week after she went missing, police launched a homicide investigation. Reeves said she no longer believed Bao was alive.
Bao’s family have expressed their “heartfelt thanks” to family, friends and the public for the “outpouring of kind words and unwavering support” they have received following her disappearance.
ALDEN WILLIAMS/STUFF
Detective Inspector Nicola Reeves provides an update on missing Christchurch real estate agent Yanfei Bao.
[ad_2]