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FBI’s help sought; search continues
Husband appeals to law enforcers, people to locate his wife
Police have sought the assistance of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and other law enforcement agencies after failing to locate Mei Hua Zhao, a 25-year-old scuba diving instructor who was reported missing since Tuesday morning.
Saipan Tribune learned that Zhao, a Chinese-Korean, owns Go Pro Diving that only opened its office in Gualo Rai last month. Her husband, Guang Zhe Xuan, manages the Go Pro Diving branch on Tinian that they set up in 2003 or 2004.
Xuan, 45, is president of Blue Ocean Tinian Corp., which owns Go Pro Diving. The couple has a 6-year-old son who was born on Tinian. At present, the boy lives in China.
Photo provided by a family friend shows Mei Hua Zhao.
(Contributed Photo)
In an interview with Saipan Tribune, Xuan stated that he and his wife have no major problems and that he has no clue on her whereabouts.
At a news briefing yesterday, Department of Public Safety Commissioner James Deleon Guerrero said they are reaching out to the FBI and other state and federal law enforcement agencies for increased collaboration in terms of being able to identify and locate Zhao.
In an interview at his shop in Gualo Rai, Xuan said he is hoping that his wife is safe and that police would find her. He also asked the public to help them find her.
Xuan disclosed that his last communication with Zhao was on Monday afternoon when she called him on Tinian, saying she’s already at their shop in Gualo Rai after a diving excursion with customers.
Xuan said a tour guide called him on Tuesday at about 9am because Zhao did not show up to pick up customers for a scheduled dive tour.
He said he then called Zhao, to no avail. Xuan then sent a friend to DPS Central to file a missing person report. He then decided to come to Saipan on Tuesday at 2:30pm.
Department of Public Safety spokesman Jason Tarkong said yesterday that the search continues and that they cannot confirm if there is a foul play involved in Zhao’s disappearance.
Tarkong said a 56-year-old Chinese man walked to the DPS front desk on Tuesday at 10:44am to report that Zhao was missing. The man stated that Zhao’s husband is on Tinian and is worried because Zhao was not returning his phone calls and is missing.
Tarkong said police learned that Zhao and another Chinese male tour agent took six Chinese tourists to Laulau Bay for diving on Monday. The diving finished at 5pm. After 47 minutes, Zhao called her husband, Xuan, telling him that the dive went well.
The next morning, Tuesday, Zhao was supposed to pick up some customers for diving but she did not show up.
Tarkong said Xuan tried several times to call her, but could not contact her.
Tarkong said Xuan then instructed his friend to report her missing to DPS police.
Patrol officers checked the couple’s residence in Gualo Rai and canvassed the Laulau Bay area, but her car was nowhere to be found.
Police detectives met with Xuan, who arrived on Saipan Tuesday afternoon, at DPS Central and escorted him back to his house/dive shop in Gualo Rai.
Tarkong said at 3:37pm on Tuesday, Chinese friends discovered Zhao’s white 2015 Toyota Tacoma pickup truck with license plate ACW-383 parked behind Joker’s Bar, which is near McDonald’s/Mobil gas station in Garapan.
Saipan Tribune learned that Joker’s Bar has been closed since Typhoon Soudelor pummeled the island last Aug. 2.
Tarkong said police towed the truck, which was locked when it was found, and secured it as evidence for processing.
“I can’t comment on what’s in the car,” he said.
Tarkong urged the public to assist DPS and Crime Stoppers in locating Zhao.
Deleon Guerrero said they treat every single missing persons report that comes to the department with the highest priority.
Deleon Guerrero said from the time it was reported, investigators were immediately notified and they had been out all throughout the night working in an attempt to locate Zhao.
The commissioner encouraged anyone who has information on Zhao’s whereabouts to call 911 because Crime Stoppers has no coordinator to entertain their call if it’s in the middle of the night.
If the tipster wants to remain anonymous, the Crime Stoppers hotline is always available, Deleon Guerrero said.
Meanwhile, a neighbor of the couple on Tinian described Zhao as a “very warm and loving person.”
“She does not do drugs and is very athletic,” according to Christina Zuccaro.
