He answered a knock at the door, felt a mist on his face, and blacked out. When he woke up hours later, there was blood on the carpet — and his wife and stepdaughter were gone.
The Incident
On November 22, 2019, Cheng Zhang was home in Irvine, California, with his 12-year-old stepdaughter, Melissa Fu, while his wife, Aiaz, was driving back from a produce-buying trip in Las Vegas. According to Zhang, a man and woman he didn't recognize came to the door around 4:30 p.m.; he says the woman sprayed something toward his face, and he lost consciousness. When he woke hours later, there was blood on the carpet and a bloody handprint on the wall — Melissa and Aiaz were both gone, and Aiaz never made it home.
The Notes
Zhang told police he found a handwritten note, in Chinese, warning him not to contact police or he would never see his wife and stepdaughter again, and instructing him to clean up the apartment and act normally. Over the following days, he says he received several more similar notes slipped under his door, and followed their instructions — replacing the carpet, painting over the handprint, posing as his wife online, and telling Melissa's school she was sick.
Going to Police
After the notes stopped and his wife and stepdaughter didn't return as promised, Zhang went to police on December 2, 2019. Investigators were initially skeptical of his account but, after more than 40 hours of interviews and 44 days of round-the-clock surveillance, found his behavior and cooperation consistent with his story. Forensic testing on carpet padding he had discarded found blood believed to belong to Aiaz, and investigators identified an anesthetic gas, Fluothane, capable of producing the kind of rapid incapacitation Zhang described.
Open Questions
The two unidentified individuals were described as being in their forties and possibly of Chinese descent, potentially driving a black Cadillac. Investigators have noted that Aiaz had told Zhang she was independently wealthy, which he later learned was untrue — raising the possibility she may have upset someone by misrepresenting her finances, or that her abductors expected a payment she didn't have. Both women's passports were left behind, and neither has used financial accounts or been confirmed to have entered China since disappearing.
Where the Case Stands
Authorities continue to investigate the case as a possible abduction. Neither Aiaz nor Melissa has ever been found.
FAQ
Have Aiaz or Melissa Fu ever been found?
No. Both remain missing, and the case is unsolved.
Was Cheng Zhang ever considered a suspect?
Investigators scrutinized his account extensively but ultimately found it consistent with the evidence rather than contradicted by it.
What might have motivated the disappearance?
Investigators have theorized it may relate to misrepresentations Aiaz reportedly made about her wealth, though this remains unconfirmed.