Family of missing Chinese scholar speaks of pain and uncertainty

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. _ When Yingying Zhang's mother learned that her daughter had gone missing from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign on June 9, she fainted. She could not eat or sleep, and became too weak to work.

The time since only has become more difficult and the family's hopes have been dashed at every turn: First, the hope Zhang was merely missing, not kidnapped; then, the hope that she would be found safe and unharmed. Then, the hope that her body would be found quickly.

More than two months later, Zhang, a visiting scholar from China, remains missing. Federal authorities say the 26-year-old is presumed dead. Brendt Christensen, a former U of I doctoral candidate