Cold and Missing: Jie Zhao Li

WEBVTT

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The views and opinions expressed in Cold and

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Missing are exclusively those of the hosts. All

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parties mentioned are considered innocent until

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proven guilty in a court of law. Cold and Missing

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also contains adult themes and languages. Listener

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discretion is advised. I'm your host, Ali McLaughlin

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-Sulkowski. And I'm your co -host, Eli Sulkowski.

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And this is Cold and Missing, where we cover

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cold cases and missing person cases. Hello, everyone,

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and welcome back to Cold and Missing. I'm your

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host, Ali. And I'm your co -host, Eli. Welcome

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back, everyone. We are back at it. Apologies

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for taking some time off last week. I was very

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busy with work, life, groceries, chores. A lot

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of stuff was going on last week, so we did not

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have the time to sit down together and record,

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but we are back at it this week. So thank you

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to those of you who have been longtime listeners.

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To all of our listeners, but for being understanding

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because we are people just like you navigating

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life things just like you guys. So thank you

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again for being here and for always being understanding

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listeners. Totally. Cold and missing is unfortunately

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not our full -time job. So occasionally other

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things just dominate the week. But we're here.

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We're back. We're on episode 155. And we are

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on a missing person case. All right, let's get

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into it. Let's do it. So just as a bit of a content

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warning at the top, this case does involve a

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young person. Today, we are talking about the

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missing person case of Jie Zhao Li. And this takes

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place in Honolulu, Hawaii, in February of 1988.

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But first, a little bit about Jie Zhao. Jie Zhao

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Li was only 12 years old when our timeline picks

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up. She was born on April 10, 1975, and in the

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spring of 1988, Jie Zhao was just weeks away from

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turning 13. She was small for her age, only around

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70 pounds, with brown eyes and black hair and

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a very fair complexion. When our timeline begins,

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her teeth are slightly crooked, giving her this

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unmistakable, youthful smile. Jie Zhao was a fourth

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grader at Royal Elementary School. Even though

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she was 12, she was placed below her age level

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because she was still learning English. Her and

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her family had immigrated from Canton, China,

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just about a year earlier. They didn't speak

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much English at all. But Jizhao was learning

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quickly. She understood far more than she could

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comfortably speak, and teachers said she worked

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hard to keep up. The Li's family life in Honolulu

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was not easy. There were five of them. Jizhao,

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her parents, an older sister who was around 15,

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and a younger sister who was around 5. They were

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all living in what was essentially a converted

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garage. The two -bedroom apartment was cramped

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and deteriorating. There was no hot water. Laundry

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was done by hand, with water boiled on the stove.

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The kitchen still had an icebox instead of a

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refrigerator. This was better than the circumstances

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they had come from. In China at this time, Jizhao

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had to be kept hidden away due to the country's

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laws around daughters and multiple children.

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When the family had a third daughter, they knew

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that they needed to move, so they quickly got

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to Hawaii. Jizhao was taken to life in Hawaii

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and helped wherever she could. Neighbors and

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teachers described her as a conscientious, sensitive,

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and kind child. She followed rules. She listened.

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She didn't cause any trouble. Her teachers remembered

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her generosity, how she would bring candy to

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school and shared it freely with the other kids.

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She loved hopscotch at recess. She was always

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dressed very neatly at school, always in long

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pants or dresses. She was especially protective

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of her little sister, once becoming so upset.

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when her sister was being bullied, that she cried

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while trying to explain what had happened to

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a teacher. A neighbor says, quote, she's a tiny,

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skinny little girl, a really nice, sweet little

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girl. And now a timeline of events. Thursday,

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February 11th, 1988. That Thursday began like

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any other normal school day. At Royal Elementary,

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students at this time were in the final days

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of selling tickets for a school fundraiser, a

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Zippy's Chili Dinner meant to raise money for

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a three -day class trip to the Big Island. The

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goal was to sell 50 tickets, totaling $125 to

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help pay for the trip. There was even a prize

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for students who sold all of their tickets. At

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first, Jie Zhao didn't want to participate. She

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wasn't sure about going on the trip. But when

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she learned that one of her friends was going,

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she changed her mind. Her homeroom teacher, Sherry

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Kim, later said that within just a few days,

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Jie Zhao had already sold 18 tickets, bringing

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back $45. She was very determined. That afternoon

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of Thursday, February 11th, Jie Zhao asked her

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mother if she could go out and sell tickets after

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school. Mrs. Li hesitated. She had recently seen

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a television commercial about missing children

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and didn't like the idea of her daughter being

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out alone. But Jizhao begged. She promised she

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would only go out for one hour. She promised

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that she wouldn't go far. She said that this

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was her last chance. She was in the final days

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and whatever tickets she didn't sell, she would

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have to turn in. She even borrowed her sister's

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watch so that way she could keep track of time.

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Eventually, her mother agreed. A little more

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than an hour. She was supposed to be home by

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5 p .m. So right around 3 .30, Jisoo leaves her

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home. She was carrying the red chili tickets

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and wearing white shorts with three small hearts

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on them, a light yellow or beige shirt with a

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long stemmed flower across the chest, and blue

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shoes with a dark blue purse worn on a strap.

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Her shoes are described as slippers, blue slippers.

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Her first stop appears to have been to a neighbor's

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house, where she asked another young girl if

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she wanted to sell tickets together. The girl

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couldn't go. She had plans with a relative. So

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Jisoo said goodbye and continued on her own.

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Shortly after leaving the friend's house, Jisoo

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entered a Radio Shack store nearby. An employee

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later told police that he bought a ticket from

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her around 3 .30 p .m. The store wasn't that

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busy. He remembered her clearly. Says, quote,

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Another Radio Shack employee did notice one other

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detail. She appeared to be looking around and

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the employee, interpreted it as she was looking

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for someone. They got the impression that there

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was an adult waiting just outside. They assumed

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her parent, but that's what it looked like when

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she left the Radio Shack. At around 4 p .m.,

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Jie Zhao approached another neighbor to sell tickets.

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He remembered her being persistent, determined.

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He told her that he'd already bought several

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tickets. After that, police believe she headed

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towards a familiar place, the 7 -Eleven. Jie Zhao

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and her sisters were known at the 7 -Eleven near

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Nuanu Avenue and South Kuakini Street. They often

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stopped there for soda or to watch other kids

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play video games. Police confirm, and when they

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talk about the case today, they do believe that

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the last verified sighting of Jie Zhao is at the

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7 -Eleven. The time is pretty broad, between

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4 and 4 .45. However, when police talk about

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the case today, the time is closer to 4 .45 that

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they believe that she was last seen. So 5 o 'clock

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rolls around and Jie Zhao was expected to be home.

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But she doesn't walk through the door. So her

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family waits for a little bit, but increasingly

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they begin to worry. Her parents began searching

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the neighborhood. As the minutes stretched on,

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the fear started to take hold. At 8 .47 p .m.,

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Jie Zhao was officially reported as missing. Initially,

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police classified the case as a runaway that

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evening. No official search was launched that

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night. The next day, Friday, February 12th, In

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the morning, investigators reviewing the overnight

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cases quickly realized something didn't quite

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fit here. Jie Zhao had never gone farther than

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School Street. She was very obedient, responsible.

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She had promised to be home. Police quickly began

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to believe in the morning that this is not a

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runaway at all. The case is escalated and police

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head out to talk to the family and begin the

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investigation. Saturday, February 13th, police

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canvassed the Nuanu area, knocking on doors and

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visiting businesses. Because of the language

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barrier with Jizhao's parents, early descriptions

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of her clothing were uncertain. Later, police

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are able to confirm what she had been wearing,

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which is the description that I gave earlier.

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Despite hours of searching, no solid leads emerged.

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Police said openly that they feared she had been

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abducted. There was no sign of her purse, chili

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tickets, and nobody had seen anything. On Valentine's

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Day that year, February 14th, through translators,

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Jie Zhao's parents spoke to the media from their

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small apartment. Her mother cried as she described

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waiting all night for her daughter to come home.

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Members of the Honolulu Chinese Alliance Church

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joined the search, going door to door to ask

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people if they knew anything. Still, nothing

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turned up. In the days that followed, from February

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15th through the 18th, police chased tips, dozens

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of them. They widened the search beyond the Nuwanu

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area. Police set up roadblocks near the 7 -Eleven.

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Police stopped every single car that was driving

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through the area at around the time that they

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believed Jizhao had been abducted, which would

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be around 4 .45 to 5 p .m. Police officers boarded

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school buses to ask children if they had seen

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or heard about anything. One thing that did start

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to happen is that conflicting sightings started

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to complicate things. So where Jizhao was last

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seen? There's a 7 -Eleven on one corner, and

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then a block away, there's another 7 -Eleven.

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And today, if you look up this area, there's

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still the two 7 -Elevens just a block apart.

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So some witnesses placed Jie Zhao at the Kuanekini

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Street 7 -Eleven as late as 4 .45 p .m. However,

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other people said they saw her at the 7 -Eleven

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just one block away on School Street. at that

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very same time, around 4 .45 in the afternoon.

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When police talk about the case today, again,

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they believe she was last seen at the Kuanakini

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Street, 7 -11. Two Mormon missionaries later

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came forward saying that they watched Jisau for

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around 15 to 20 minutes as she tried to sell

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her chili tickets. They didn't speak to her,

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they just kind of watched her while they drank

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a soda, and they left before she did. Police

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also begin investigating reports that she had

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been seen speaking with a man. They even create

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a composite sketch, but they don't immediately

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release the composite sketch to the public. By

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February 19th, the case was handed over to the

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homicide unit. They also release the sketches

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of the man believed to have spoken to Jie Zhao.

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for at least 10 minutes outside of the school

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street 7 -11. So this would be the 7 -11 that

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is the block away from where she is believed

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to have last been seen. They believe that she

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talked to him for about 10 minutes between 4

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.30 and 4 .45. He was described as white, in

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his 30s, tall and slender and neatly dressed.

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At the same time, police revealed another troubling

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lead that they had gotten. Multiple witnesses

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reported seeing a girl resembling Jie Zhao days

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after her disappearance on Valentine's Day, February

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14th, sitting in the backseat of a yellow vintage

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Chevrolet at a service station. The car was last

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seen again without the girl that same day, which

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was Valentine's Day. Dark hair pulled into a

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ponytail that had been dyed orange. He had a

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dark complexion and appeared to be in his 30s.

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From March through April of 1988, hundreds of

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volunteers searched throughout Honolulu, covering

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rugged terrain, neighborhoods, coastlines, for...

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Over a month, these searches happened on every

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single Saturday, and it was organized by volunteers.

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It was not the police. However, these searches

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did not turn up a single sign of Jie Zhao. On

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April 21st of 1988, so this would have been just

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over two months since Jie Zhao was last seen,

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Jie Zhao's mother reported a failed kidnapping

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attempt, or what seemed to be a failed kidnapping

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attempt. She reported that while she was walking

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to work before dawn around 5 .30 a .m., a man

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pulled up near her and rolled down the window

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and started talking to her. She didn't fully

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understand what he was trying to say, but it

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scared her so much that she took off running.

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This was eventually reported to the police. Police

00:15:16.639 --> 00:15:18.799
investigate this to see if there's any connection

00:15:18.799 --> 00:15:21.940
to Jisoo, but it doesn't appear that they're

00:15:21.940 --> 00:15:26.059
ever able to really get far in. tracking down

00:15:26.059 --> 00:15:28.919
who did this to Jisal's mother, let alone where

00:15:28.919 --> 00:15:35.379
Jisal was. So by the end of April, searches slowed

00:15:35.379 --> 00:15:39.720
and Leigh's really dried up. Immediately, the

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case seems to go cold. In the months that follow,

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the Leigh family do end up getting a house that's

00:15:47.399 --> 00:15:50.259
donated to them by the Habitat for Humanity.

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But in the years that follow, There's really

00:15:53.860 --> 00:15:58.820
no new updates in the case. Jie Zhao's face appeared

00:15:58.820 --> 00:16:01.740
in newspapers over the years in like missing

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person ads and like other children missing. Her

00:16:05.240 --> 00:16:08.200
age progressed photos were mailed out on national

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mailers. However, the mailers were only sent

00:16:11.399 --> 00:16:14.240
out in the continental United States. None of

00:16:14.240 --> 00:16:17.419
them were sent out in Hawaii. So some leads did

00:16:17.419 --> 00:16:20.639
generate from that. But again, none of them led

00:16:20.639 --> 00:16:24.740
to Jie Zhao. Her father walked the street where

00:16:24.740 --> 00:16:27.539
she was last seen, night after night for years

00:16:27.539 --> 00:16:32.480
looking for her. The last real update that I

00:16:32.480 --> 00:16:35.220
could find came in 2014, and again, there was

00:16:35.220 --> 00:16:37.740
really no new news. It was just retelling of

00:16:37.740 --> 00:16:41.039
her story. But what we did get is an age -progressed

00:16:41.039 --> 00:16:43.320
photo, which does appear to be the most recent

00:16:43.320 --> 00:16:46.779
one, which was done in 2014, which was over 30

00:16:46.779 --> 00:16:50.610
years since she was last seen. So with that,

00:16:50.610 --> 00:16:53.029
if you know anything about the disappearance

00:16:53.029 --> 00:16:57.429
of Jizao Li or her whereabouts today, please

00:16:57.429 --> 00:17:02.149
call the Honolulu Police Department at 808 -529

00:17:02.149 --> 00:17:08.230
-3111. So that is the missing person case of

00:17:08.230 --> 00:17:11.730
Jizao Li. Before we get into her timeline, as

00:17:11.730 --> 00:17:14.289
always, I just wanted to speak a little bit about

00:17:14.289 --> 00:17:19.539
Jizao and her personality. And honestly, what

00:17:19.539 --> 00:17:24.160
her circumstances were for her very young life.

00:17:24.740 --> 00:17:29.700
And just off the bat, she and her family assimilating

00:17:29.700 --> 00:17:36.339
over from China because of this rule is, for

00:17:36.339 --> 00:17:38.759
the most part, it's kind of unimaginable for

00:17:38.759 --> 00:17:43.839
me. But I can at least understand that it's probably

00:17:43.839 --> 00:17:46.960
a very stressful adjustment, not just for her.

00:17:47.549 --> 00:17:52.089
but for her entire family, and an emotional adjustment.

00:17:52.809 --> 00:17:56.809
Just circling back to what was happening in China

00:17:56.809 --> 00:18:02.190
for her before she and her family got to the

00:18:02.190 --> 00:18:05.130
U .S., being a child and being hidden by her

00:18:05.130 --> 00:18:08.769
parents because they fear their government's

00:18:08.769 --> 00:18:15.309
law so deeply is... I would imagine something

00:18:15.309 --> 00:18:17.690
very difficult to understand when you are young.

00:18:18.230 --> 00:18:23.049
This young person, these people, had already

00:18:23.049 --> 00:18:28.730
gone through so much, and what happened to them

00:18:28.730 --> 00:18:35.049
after getting to the U .S. is horrifying. Just

00:18:35.049 --> 00:18:39.170
absolute worst -case scenario, I think, for someone

00:18:39.170 --> 00:18:42.950
who is trying to find a better life. For themselves.

00:18:44.730 --> 00:18:49.390
I understand why her personality was the way

00:18:49.390 --> 00:18:50.849
that it was and the way that you spoke about

00:18:50.849 --> 00:18:56.450
it, that she was very well behaved and safe and

00:18:56.450 --> 00:18:59.009
protective of her sister. I think that some of

00:18:59.009 --> 00:19:02.269
those personality traits or even behaviors are

00:19:02.269 --> 00:19:06.470
probably born from the life that that she had.

00:19:07.269 --> 00:19:11.470
What the Li family like had to go through, you

00:19:11.470 --> 00:19:17.619
know. In China and then getting to Hawaii. And

00:19:17.619 --> 00:19:21.680
then, you know, they say, like, a year later,

00:19:21.700 --> 00:19:23.720
essentially, that they got to Hawaii. Jie Zhao

00:19:23.720 --> 00:19:30.200
was abducted. So I can't imagine the pain and

00:19:30.200 --> 00:19:33.759
just what that family has gone through. So, like,

00:19:33.859 --> 00:19:38.160
I really just, like, feel for this family more

00:19:38.160 --> 00:19:41.920
than anything. is, you know, her sisters, her

00:19:41.920 --> 00:19:45.539
parents. This must have been very difficult to

00:19:45.539 --> 00:19:51.259
lose somebody like Jie Zhao, who was so dependent

00:19:51.259 --> 00:19:55.480
on, or not dependent, but independent rather.

00:19:55.660 --> 00:19:57.420
Like she, you know, really helped out around

00:19:57.420 --> 00:19:59.240
the house. Like her mom spoke about, she would

00:19:59.240 --> 00:20:01.579
just help do laundry. If she just saw the laundry,

00:20:01.680 --> 00:20:06.339
she'd just go do it. So I know her loss is huge

00:20:06.339 --> 00:20:10.009
in this family's life. I just really see this,

00:20:10.009 --> 00:20:13.650
like, determined little sales girl just trying

00:20:13.650 --> 00:20:16.250
to sell these tickets and, like, go on this trip

00:20:16.250 --> 00:20:21.829
with her friend. And what a normal part of childhood.

00:20:22.009 --> 00:20:24.509
Like, that was in the 80s and 90s at least. That

00:20:24.509 --> 00:20:30.349
was so normal. And it's just a devastating case.

00:20:31.970 --> 00:20:35.230
Yeah, you bringing that up takes us right into...

00:20:35.740 --> 00:20:39.579
The timeline, speaking about, again, just her

00:20:39.579 --> 00:20:43.859
personality and the type of kid she was and being

00:20:43.859 --> 00:20:47.480
responsible, as the timeline begins, we do learn

00:20:47.480 --> 00:20:51.099
that she takes her sister's watch to keep track

00:20:51.099 --> 00:20:53.779
of time. And obviously no cell phones at that

00:20:53.779 --> 00:20:57.319
time, so a watch would be the only thing available.

00:20:57.539 --> 00:21:00.119
And the fact that she was the one who suggested

00:21:00.119 --> 00:21:03.980
it, like, I'll borrow my sister's watch, again,

00:21:04.059 --> 00:21:09.890
I think says a lot about, So quickly after that,

00:21:10.009 --> 00:21:16.509
everything ramps up. I know that you mentioned

00:21:16.509 --> 00:21:20.869
her possibly being seen at the local 7 -Eleven

00:21:20.869 --> 00:21:23.910
that she and her sisters were known for being

00:21:23.910 --> 00:21:31.480
there, watching kids play video games. I'm a

00:21:31.480 --> 00:21:34.640
little bit younger than Giselle, but my siblings

00:21:34.640 --> 00:21:38.259
and I hung out at our local 7 -Eleven. And it

00:21:38.259 --> 00:21:41.920
was about 10 years later, like in the mid -90s.

00:21:42.680 --> 00:21:45.059
It was pretty regular for us to do that. We would

00:21:45.059 --> 00:21:49.259
walk through our neighborhood to go there. So

00:21:49.259 --> 00:21:55.160
her doing that, socializing in that way, seemed

00:21:55.160 --> 00:21:58.359
very normal. Yeah, the 7 -Eleven, I'm sure, felt

00:21:58.359 --> 00:22:01.599
very safe to Jisoo. And I think it was a smart

00:22:01.599 --> 00:22:04.339
place for her to like kind of think to go to

00:22:04.339 --> 00:22:06.519
sell these tickets like where people are going.

00:22:06.640 --> 00:22:09.200
They probably have some cash on them. It does

00:22:09.200 --> 00:22:12.359
sound like in the reports that she had been there

00:22:12.359 --> 00:22:14.779
in the days beforehand trying to sell tickets.

00:22:14.900 --> 00:22:17.859
So maybe she had seen some success there. So

00:22:17.859 --> 00:22:20.119
that's kind of naturally where she was headed.

00:22:21.519 --> 00:22:25.059
But yeah, it's. And it seemed very busy. That's

00:22:25.059 --> 00:22:28.500
the thing. Jie Zhao was seen, you know, at the

00:22:28.500 --> 00:22:33.539
7 -Eleven, it seems, till 4 .45. And then likely

00:22:33.539 --> 00:22:36.099
she would have started moving home to get home

00:22:36.099 --> 00:22:40.500
by 5 p .m. But really that 15 minutes seems to

00:22:40.500 --> 00:22:43.579
be the window. Police believe the abduction happened

00:22:43.579 --> 00:22:48.380
around 5 p .m. So I would be curious to know

00:22:48.380 --> 00:22:53.059
if police have... had witnesses outside of the

00:22:53.059 --> 00:22:55.500
7 -Eleven at all. Because it really does seem

00:22:55.500 --> 00:22:58.779
like that was truly where she banished from.

00:22:59.160 --> 00:23:04.920
So that 15 -minute window happens. And, you know,

00:23:04.940 --> 00:23:08.440
I am not a parent, but I think my reaction would

00:23:08.440 --> 00:23:12.640
be very similar to what her parents was. And,

00:23:12.640 --> 00:23:19.059
you know, I'm sure within minutes. of of it surpassing

00:23:19.059 --> 00:23:23.900
15 minutes they knew something was wrong from

00:23:23.900 --> 00:23:26.740
my understanding and just knowing parents having

00:23:26.740 --> 00:23:29.039
parents as siblings like you usually know in

00:23:29.039 --> 00:23:31.220
your gut when something is off with your kid

00:23:31.220 --> 00:23:35.480
and it sounds like to me that that was true for

00:23:35.480 --> 00:23:39.440
her parents yeah her parents were out there searching

00:23:39.440 --> 00:23:43.279
um it seems like within an hour and a half uh

00:23:43.279 --> 00:23:47.460
they were out searching but um Within, it seems,

00:23:47.519 --> 00:23:50.140
about four hours of when Jisoo was last seen,

00:23:50.220 --> 00:23:53.019
the police are called. So pretty quickly, like,

00:23:53.079 --> 00:23:56.779
the parents decide that it is serious enough

00:23:56.779 --> 00:23:59.079
and that this is enough out of Jisoo's character

00:23:59.079 --> 00:24:02.279
that they need to call the police, which I'm

00:24:02.279 --> 00:24:05.059
sure was very scary for them. I'm sure they've

00:24:05.059 --> 00:24:07.480
never had to call 911 before. So that must have

00:24:07.480 --> 00:24:11.799
been really scary and a daunting mountain to

00:24:11.799 --> 00:24:15.069
climb. Yeah, not to mention, you know, this family

00:24:15.069 --> 00:24:18.789
is still actively assimilating. And there's always

00:24:18.789 --> 00:24:22.509
that possibility that law enforcement's response,

00:24:22.789 --> 00:24:28.410
especially to someone who is not speaking English

00:24:28.410 --> 00:24:31.190
as their first language in America, might not

00:24:31.190 --> 00:24:35.109
be a great one. And I was happily surprised that

00:24:35.109 --> 00:24:37.049
in this case, it seemed like law enforcement

00:24:37.049 --> 00:24:43.900
was doing their job. happily surprised to know

00:24:43.900 --> 00:24:48.099
that, you know, they were doing the search and

00:24:48.099 --> 00:24:52.660
then continued to widen it. In a lot of cases,

00:24:52.720 --> 00:24:56.039
especially ones we've covered, we are often let

00:24:56.039 --> 00:25:01.000
down. Often, like, if I'm being completely honest,

00:25:01.039 --> 00:25:04.079
sick to my stomach in the way that law enforcement

00:25:04.079 --> 00:25:08.339
has responded in other cases outside of Juzau.

00:25:08.400 --> 00:25:13.799
So I... I'm glad that they responded in the way

00:25:13.799 --> 00:25:16.619
that they did. And I do think that because they

00:25:16.619 --> 00:25:23.339
did, there is room for answers now. Because people

00:25:23.339 --> 00:25:26.460
did their job back then, there's a possibility

00:25:26.460 --> 00:25:29.200
that there's room for this case to be solved.

00:25:29.619 --> 00:25:32.200
Yeah, you know, in the morning, they decided

00:25:32.200 --> 00:25:35.880
to take Giselle's case seriously, but we did

00:25:35.880 --> 00:25:39.529
lose that first night. Nobody was out. searching

00:25:39.529 --> 00:25:42.630
officially from the police. Yeah. But to your

00:25:42.630 --> 00:25:46.190
point, like once they, you know, really sat down

00:25:46.190 --> 00:25:49.049
and saw what they had, they started to take it

00:25:49.049 --> 00:25:52.549
seriously. And then community response by continuing

00:25:52.549 --> 00:25:57.220
the search and widening it like the. The community

00:25:57.220 --> 00:25:59.319
search, they were like, we are searching this

00:25:59.319 --> 00:26:02.140
entire island looking for her. And it seems like

00:26:02.140 --> 00:26:04.759
for the most part, they did cover most of the

00:26:04.759 --> 00:26:08.220
island. They just never found any sign of her.

00:26:08.259 --> 00:26:10.759
They never found the watch, no tickets, the purse,

00:26:11.000 --> 00:26:14.220
clothing, nothing that was on Jisal was ever

00:26:14.220 --> 00:26:17.819
recovered as far as we know. Now, for this portion,

00:26:17.920 --> 00:26:21.519
I know we can speculate endlessly about who the

00:26:21.519 --> 00:26:24.799
guy was that was speaking to her. And then I

00:26:24.799 --> 00:26:27.359
believe, and maybe you can offer up some clarification

00:26:27.359 --> 00:26:32.220
here, there's another man with the orange hair.

00:26:33.019 --> 00:26:36.599
Yeah, two men. So one of the men, there's a white

00:26:36.599 --> 00:26:41.220
man in his mid -30s that several witnesses said

00:26:41.220 --> 00:26:44.970
was talking to Jie Zhao. at the 7 -11 that was

00:26:44.970 --> 00:26:48.170
like a block away from the one that she was officially

00:26:48.170 --> 00:26:51.890
last seen at so that sketch is released we're

00:26:51.890 --> 00:26:54.549
going to put that on our instagram and then the

00:26:54.549 --> 00:26:58.839
second man was the man that was seen driving

00:26:58.839 --> 00:27:01.920
the yellow Chevrolet. And the yellow Chevrolet

00:27:01.920 --> 00:27:04.200
had primer spots on it. There were like three

00:27:04.200 --> 00:27:08.680
distinct primer spots. But this was like a 1950s,

00:27:08.680 --> 00:27:11.279
like a late 1950s Chevrolet. So very distinct

00:27:11.279 --> 00:27:16.359
yellow in color. And that man had the dark hair

00:27:16.359 --> 00:27:19.359
that was like tied into a ponytail. And the ends

00:27:19.359 --> 00:27:24.079
of the ponytail were like dyed orange. Thank

00:27:24.079 --> 00:27:27.559
you for that clarification. what I thought that

00:27:27.559 --> 00:27:31.240
it was, but it's helpful just to know that there

00:27:31.240 --> 00:27:36.180
was a difference. Again, especially because there

00:27:36.180 --> 00:27:38.660
are fresh eyes on this, I think that the fact

00:27:38.660 --> 00:27:42.059
that there were multiple sightings of her and

00:27:42.059 --> 00:27:47.400
sightings of the one, the white guy, and then

00:27:47.400 --> 00:27:51.740
the guy with the orange hair, I think it's great

00:27:51.740 --> 00:27:56.690
that there are some vivid descriptions of you

00:27:56.690 --> 00:27:59.529
know, possible, possible perps, or at least maybe

00:27:59.529 --> 00:28:02.450
people with information at the time. And again,

00:28:02.569 --> 00:28:06.869
I know this was in the late 80s, but that is

00:28:06.869 --> 00:28:10.779
not that long ago. No. And, you know, we don't

00:28:10.779 --> 00:28:13.859
have a sketch of the man driving the car, but

00:28:13.859 --> 00:28:16.960
it is a very distinct car. And according to police,

00:28:17.099 --> 00:28:19.480
they went through records. You know, there's

00:28:19.480 --> 00:28:22.660
only so many cars on an island, but it doesn't

00:28:22.660 --> 00:28:24.440
appear that they were ever able to track this

00:28:24.440 --> 00:28:27.539
particular car down. But it's distinct enough.

00:28:27.680 --> 00:28:32.500
Late 1950s Chevrolet, yellow in color in Hawaii.

00:28:33.400 --> 00:28:36.200
that somebody should recognize that. And then

00:28:36.200 --> 00:28:39.099
this sketch as well of the man seen talking to

00:28:39.099 --> 00:28:42.920
her at 7 -Eleven. While we are reaching kind

00:28:42.920 --> 00:28:45.880
of the end of the timeline, just to quickly pivot

00:28:45.880 --> 00:28:49.940
to what happened with her mother, I wanted to

00:28:49.940 --> 00:28:53.559
take a moment to talk about just what I kind

00:28:53.559 --> 00:28:56.960
of think was happening or what it looks like

00:28:56.960 --> 00:29:00.299
to me. And it seems like there was someone who...

00:29:01.230 --> 00:29:05.750
Was obviously, you know, in the area acting on

00:29:05.750 --> 00:29:08.829
and displaying predatory behavior or stalking

00:29:08.829 --> 00:29:15.650
behavior or just violent behavior. So I. To me,

00:29:15.670 --> 00:29:19.390
that's what I think was possibly happening. I

00:29:19.390 --> 00:29:23.289
would be very curious to know, you know, if police

00:29:23.289 --> 00:29:27.490
were ever able to connect it ultimately to your

00:29:27.490 --> 00:29:30.309
point. You know, I think it speaks to like maybe

00:29:30.309 --> 00:29:32.730
what was happening in the neighborhood or who

00:29:32.730 --> 00:29:37.309
somebody was in the neighborhood that was, you

00:29:37.309 --> 00:29:41.529
know, acting this way, acting out. But ultimately,

00:29:41.769 --> 00:29:43.869
you know, the case just goes cold so quickly.

00:29:43.950 --> 00:29:47.210
And I'm so hopeful that somebody will either

00:29:47.210 --> 00:29:49.589
recognize the sketch, like recognize the car,

00:29:49.789 --> 00:29:52.029
and we'll just be able to come forward with some

00:29:52.029 --> 00:29:55.670
information that will ultimately be able to give

00:29:55.670 --> 00:29:59.099
the Li family answers. Ultimately, they would

00:29:59.099 --> 00:30:02.059
like to have them in this case. So again, if

00:30:02.059 --> 00:30:04.700
you know anything about the disappearance of

00:30:04.700 --> 00:30:08.799
Jisao Li in February of 1988 or her whereabouts

00:30:08.799 --> 00:30:11.940
today, please call the Honolulu Police Department

00:30:11.940 --> 00:30:18.420
at 808 -529 -3111. And like I mentioned during

00:30:18.420 --> 00:30:22.299
the timeline, We will have pictures of Jie Zhao

00:30:22.299 --> 00:30:25.500
on our Instagram as well as age progress photos

00:30:25.500 --> 00:30:29.240
and the sketch of the suspect. So you can find

00:30:29.240 --> 00:30:31.640
that at Cold and Missing. Eli does the graphics

00:30:31.640 --> 00:30:33.799
every week. Please share them if you have the

00:30:33.799 --> 00:30:36.420
chance to just to get the case out there. This

00:30:36.420 --> 00:30:38.839
is a very well -known case in Hawaii, but not

00:30:38.839 --> 00:30:41.859
as well -known outside of the island. So please

00:30:41.859 --> 00:30:44.460
share it, share the sketch. Let's get energy

00:30:44.460 --> 00:30:46.359
behind the case and maybe somebody out there

00:30:46.359 --> 00:30:50.640
knows something. If you or someone you love is

00:30:50.640 --> 00:30:52.660
hard of hearing and needs transcripts to follow

00:30:52.660 --> 00:30:55.279
along with our podcast, you can do that at www

00:30:55.279 --> 00:30:57.440
.coldandmissing .com. That's where the official

00:30:57.440 --> 00:30:59.759
transcripts are, as well as all of our other

00:30:59.759 --> 00:31:02.099
episodes. So please head there if that's what

00:31:02.099 --> 00:31:04.319
you're looking for. And if you have some time

00:31:04.319 --> 00:31:07.200
today, if you could leave us a review, it's really

00:31:07.200 --> 00:31:09.839
helpful in getting the podcast to other people

00:31:09.839 --> 00:31:12.279
and folks to listen to it and take a chance on

00:31:12.279 --> 00:31:16.650
this and ultimately sharing it five stars. That

00:31:16.650 --> 00:31:18.750
gets the case out there. That gets people listening.

00:31:18.849 --> 00:31:21.509
So if you could help the case out and leave five

00:31:21.509 --> 00:31:24.130
stars, that would be so incredible. But that

00:31:24.130 --> 00:31:26.349
is all I have for you this week. I'm your host,

00:31:26.430 --> 00:31:29.309
Ali . And I'm your co -host, Eli. Have a good

00:31:29.309 --> 00:31:31.490
week and stay safe, y 'all. Stay safe, y 'all.