Yanfei Bao: Human remains found in search for New Zealand real estate agent who went missing from Christchurch more than a year ago
Human remains have been found during the search for a real estate agent who disappeared over a year ago.
Yanfei Bao, 44, disappeared on July 19 last year.
The Chinese woman was last seen in the suburb of Hornby in western Christchurch, New Zealand, at 10am on the day of her disappearance.
Detectives launched a murder investigation a week after she disappeared and later charged 53-year-old Tingjun Cao with her murder. He is set to stand trial in October.
Now, 11 days after the anniversary of her disappearance, New Zealand police have announced that they have found human remains in a plot in Greenpark, about 45 minutes south of Christchurch.
“During a search of private farmland in the Greenpark area this morning a shallow grave was discovered along the tree line,” Detective Constable Nicola Reeves said.
‘The remains cannot be formally identified immediately. Exhumation and forensic examination are currently underway.
Yanfei Bao (pictured), 44, disappeared on July 19 last year. Detectives launched a murder investigation a week after she disappeared and later charged 53-year-old Tingjun Cao with her murder
The Chinese national was last seen in the western Christchurch suburb of Hornby at 10am on the day of her disappearance (pictured)
“This news has been shared with Yanfei’s immediate family and although we have been hoping for it for a long time, it still comes as a shock.”
Detective Reeves indicated that the area had been searched previously, but that “new information” led detectives back to the property.
“For operational reasons, we are unable to share the information that led us to search this location,” she added.
On the day she disappeared, Mrs. Bao was supposed to meet a potential client to show him a house.
Now, 11 days after the anniversary of her disappearance, New Zealand police have announced they have found human remains at a property in Greenpark, about 45 minutes south of Christchurch (stock photo)
The last contact she had was when she called a friend on the Chinese social media app WeChat that morning, asking how a Chinese buyer living in Christchurch could transfer $NZ600,000 ($538,899) from China to buy a house, it reported. Stuff.
Police later charged 53-year-old Tingjun Cao with her kidnapping and a few days later with murder.
The kidnapping charges have since been dropped, but he is due to stand trial for her murder in October.
Bao’s husband Paul Gooch said at the time that her disappearance had changed their family’s lives “irreparably”.
Her daughter Momo has shown “incredible resilience” over the past year, Mr Gooch added.
“It’s truly inspiring to see how, despite all the adversity, she still finds reasons to laugh and be her authentic self,” he said.
“Her mother would undoubtedly be extremely proud of her.”