New Zealand

Yanfei Bao case: Residents urged to share any information on missing real estate agent

10:25 am on 23 July 2023

Police are still investigating Christchurch woman Yanfei Bao's disappearance. Photo: RNZ / NZ Police

A community leader in Christchurch says public assistance is vital in the search for Yanfei Bao.

The Harcourts real estate agent was last seen on Wednesday morning, door-knocking in the suburb of Wigram.

On Saturday police announced they had seized a car and executed search warrants at two properties in relation to her disappearance, and as a result, several people have been helping them with their enquiries.

In a statement, police said search warrants were executed at addresses in the suburbs of Bryndwr and Wigram.

Police are back at a house in Wigram today as they continue inquiries into Bao's disappearance.

Officers have been searching a property on Iroquois Place, the street where her car was found and where she was last seen.

Police have received about 40 tips from the public about the case.

The Greater Hornby Residents Association chairperson, Kim Moss, said crime has been increasing in her neighbourhood.

It was important residents reported crime when they saw it, she said.

She encouraged residents of the greater Hornby area in Christchurch to share posts from the local police's Facebook page to help find Bao.

Moss believed local residents might be able to help the police with important information.

"The police can't be everywhere but a lot of home owners and renters and so forth have home security systems with camera footage. A lot of vehicles now have videos and so forth that they can access and provide to police," Moss said.

"Residents are offering to be involved in the search for her and at the moment we're just waiting to see what the police are able to provide to assist in the search, where to go, what cameras to look at."

She said the wider community wanted Bao to be found safe and sound.

Police said on Friday it was too early to say whether someone else was involved in the 44-year-old's disappearance.

Inspector Nicola Reeves said officers were deeply concerned about Bao's safety, but were treating it as a missing person investigation at this stage.

Her cellphone was found in grass beside the Southern Motorway near Blakes Road, Reeves said.

Bao's husband and 9-year-old daughter were increasingly worried about her unusual disappearance, she said.