Police search for missing real estate agent Yanfei Bao on Hudsons Rd in Greenpark in October. Photo: RNZ/ Nathan McKinnon
Police are continuing to search for Christchurch real estate agent Yanfei Bao, who has been missing since 19 July last year.
A 53-year-old Chinese national, Tingjun Cao, has been accused of her kidnapping and murder, with a trial date scheduled for October.
Despite investigators undertaking extensive searches of Christchurch and surrounding areas over the past 12 months, the 44-year-old's body has never been found.
What follows is a timeline of what we know - and what we don't - in Bao's disappearance:
Photo: Supplied / RNZ
19 July 2023: Real estate agent Yanfei Bao is last seen on Trevor St in the Christchurch suburb of Hornby just before 12.30pm. She is reported missing later that day after failing to pick her daughter up from after school care. Bao's car, a silver Nissan Dualis, registration PKT556, is found nearby in Iroquois Place, Wigram, around 10.45pm. Police begin their search, calling on the public the following day to share any information they might have on Bao. A friend of Bao's later claims the real estate agent called her shortly before disappearing to ask how a client could transfer money from China to New Zealand.
21 July: Detective Inspector Nicola Reeves, who has been leading the investigation, first speaks to reporters at the Christchurch Central Police Station. Reeves said police had located Bao's cellphone on the Southern Motorway, near Blakes Rd, and were appealing for information from the public.
22 July: A vehicle of interest is seized, and search warrants are executed at two Christchurch addresses, one in Bryndwr and one in Wigram. In the evening, police detain a man at Christchurch Airport attempting to leave the country.
23 July: Police charge a man with kidnapping in relation to Bao's disappearance, and call for sightings of a silver Mitsubishi sedan, registration DPH101.
Photo: Supplied / NZ police
25 July: Police commence a scene examination at the Trevor St property, with Reeves describing the address as being "of significant interest".
26 July: Police increase their search activity in locations across Christchurch, focusing on areas in and around the Halswell River and the nearby area of Greenpark. Reeves tells reporters the case has been escalated to a homicide investigation, with further charges considered against the 52-year-old man charged three days earlier.
31 July: Police continue to search areas near the Hallswell River, saying they had received more than 200 pieces of information relating to the case.
15 August: Police file an additional charge of murder against the man initially charged with Bao's kidnapping. Investigators also release photographs of a tracksuit, sweatshirt and shovel that are related to the case, saying the items will have been discarded in the Christchurch area some time from approximately midday on Wednesday, 19 July, to about 5pm on Saturday, 22 July.
Tingjun Cao Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon
1 September: The man charged with Bao's kidnapping and murder is named as Tingjun Cao, who pleads not guilty to both charges at the Christchurch High Court. A trial date is tentatively set for October 2024.
12-13 September: Police search Hudson's Rd and locations in Greenpark.
11-13 October: Police search locations in Motukarara and Greenpark. Areas along Hudsons Rd, Jarvis Rd and along the edge of Lake Ellesmere near Jarvis Rd are also searched.
Late June 2024: Police search locations in Greenpark, specifically MacArtneys Rd, Davidsons Rd and Hudsons Rd based on fresh leads, but don't find anything relevant to the investigation.
19 July: Reeves says the investigation into Bao's disappearance is still "very active", with staff now in the process of finalising evidence ahead of Cao's trial. She says a new investigative lead recently led police to re-establish search activity, both in a previously searched area and a newly identified area. Bao's family in New Zealand releases a statement through police, saying her disappearance had "changed all our lives irreparably". In a separate statement, Bao's relatives in China speak of their "immense grief".
