Story Created: Sep 29, 2014 at 4:51 PM CDT
Story Updated: Sep 29, 2014 at 7:20 PM CDT
IOWA CITY — Police have confirmed the body found in the trunk of a car in Iowa City last week is that of a missing Iowa State University student from China.
But, police still do not know how 20-year-old Tong Shao died, where she died or when she died. At this time, Shao’s death is considered suspicious and an autopsy — which should provide answers to those questions — has not yet been completed.
“That’s still part of the ongoing investigation,” Sgt. Scott Gaarde said Monday.
Police have identified a person of interest in the case — 23-year-old Xiangnan Li. Li is a University of Iowa student from China who resides in the same apartment complex where the body was found. Police believe Li has returned to his home country, though that has not been confirmed.
Li is a fourth year finance major, according to UI spokesman Tom Moore. According to a traffic citation issued to Li by the Coralville Police Department earlier this year, Li once listed Shao’s Ames address as his own. However, police declined to specify what relationship the two had.
“We’re not going to release the specifics of their relationship, other than they’re known associates,” Gaarde said.
Investigators say they have not spoken with Li. And, Gaarde said, getting Li from China — which does not share an extradition treaty with the United States — could create additional obstacles for investigators.
“There’s obviously going to be some challenges in an investigation involving some other country, as opposed to a neighboring jurisdiction,” he said.
Gaarde said authorities will use whatever resources are at their disposal, including — if necessary — the aid of the federal government, to bring Li to the United States should that become necessary.
Police discovered Shao’s body Friday night at Dolphin Lake Point Enclave in Iowa City. At the time, police could not positively confirm her identity and noted her body had probably been in the car for an extended period of time. Police said there were no obvious injuries. She was identified through the investigation, police said Monday.
The body was found in the trunk of a beige 1997 Toyota Camry with Kentucky plates that had been connected to Shao. Police announced earlier in the day Friday they had been looking for the Camry. Shao was first reported missing from Ames on Sept. 17, but police there said her friends last heard from her on Sept. 8 when Shao reported she was in Iowa City to visit a friend and then was heading north to Minnesota.
Iowa City police said they tracked down friends she knew in Iowa City. That led them to search the area around Dolphin Lake Point, where the Camry was found.
Gaarde said Monday police are awaiting the results from the autopsy and following up on other leads, including items found in the vehicle.
“The next steps for us would be to investigate all leads, including speaking to witnesses and other people who may have information about the death of Ms. Shao,” he said.
Social media posts and court records shed some light into the investigation and into the relationship between Shao and Li.
Shao on Aug. 25 publicly posted on Facebook a picture of herself in a shirt that read, “I am Tong, nice to meet you.” Shao thanked her roommate for the “cute T-shirt” in the post, which had one comment — a message from Li.
“Tired of all that beauty Tong Tong,” Li wrote in Mandarin, which a Facebook translation tool converted to English.
Li, while enrolled as a UI student in Iowa City, in February gave police a home address in Ames after he was pulled over in Coralville for failure to obey a traffic control device, according to court records. The Ames address he gave — 1300 Coconino Road 125 — is the same address Shao lists in the Iowa State student directory.
Li, a Chinese national, first enrolled as a UI student in fall 2013, according to UI spokesman Tom Moore. According to Li’s Facebook page, he last studied at the Rochester Institute of Technology, and he was listed on the dean’s list there in Spring 2013.
Li and Shao became friends on Facebook in 2012. Some reports of Shao’s disappearance have said she was visiting a boyfriend in Iowa City.
Li’s criminal record in Iowa includes only driving offenses — including the February tickets in Coralville for failure to obey a traffic control device and driving while suspended. He also received speeding tickets in Story County in June and August of 2013, according to court records.
Shao was studying chemical engineering at Iowa State, and ISU’s “Wang Lab” in March posted on its website that Shao had joined its research and that she would continue as a summer intern.
Some news outlets and reporters in China have been following the case and linked Li with the missing Shao early in the day Monday.
In a statement Monday afternoon, Iowa State University President Steven Leath offered condolences to Shao’s family and friends, “both here and in China.”
“She will be missed by all,” Leath said. “We appreciate the hard work of the Ames, Iowa City and Iowa State University Police departments, as well as other law enforcement agencies, and understand that their investigation continues.”
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