frightfiction Chapter 1435: Key Investigations and Analyses
Chapter 1435: Key Investigations and Analyses
“Injured? No,” Zhao Wei’s wife recalled. “He was in good health before he disappeared, but recently he’d been a bit down about work and drinking a lot. By the way, he had a small, very noticeable birthmark on his right wrist. Did the person you found have that birthmark?” Xiao Zhou immediately checked the forensic autopsy report, which clearly stated, “No obvious birthmarks were found on the deceased’s body.” He then pressed for other physical details about Zhao Wei and discovered a mole behind his ear, but no similar feature was found on the remains. “Madam, the features you provided don’t quite match what we have. We will continue to help you find Zhao Wei, and we will notify you as soon as we have any news.” After hanging up, Xiao Zhou asked Xiao Li to mark “excluded” on the information list, and the team members’ spirits plummeted once again.
By the fourth day of the investigation, the team had sifted through nearly 8000 pieces of information on missing persons and identified more than 100 potential leads. However, after comparing details with the forensic report, contacting family members for verification, and coordinating with the local criminal investigation department, all potential leads were ruled out one by one. The team members were exhausted to the limit; some fell asleep at their desks, while others sat in chairs, rubbing their aching shoulders, their eyes filled with confusion.
“Have we gone in the wrong direction?” Xiaolin said weakly. “We’ve checked more than 8000 records and still haven’t found a match. Could it be that the deceased wasn’t from this province? Or that the person has been missing for more than six months?” The other team members echoed, “Yes, if we expand the scope further, there will be even more information. We simply don’t have enough manpower to sort it all out.”
Seeing his team members' exhausted appearance, Xiao Zhou felt a pang of sadness, but he knew they absolutely couldn't give up now. He walked to the center of the office, clapped his hands forcefully to get everyone's attention: "I know you're all tired, I'm even more tired than you. But we can't give up. If we give up now, all our previous efforts will have been in vain. The deceased is still lying there waiting for us to identify him, and his family is still waiting for news. As police officers, we can't let them down."
Xiao Zhou picked up the forensic autopsy report on the table, turned to the page describing the deceased's characteristics, and said to everyone, "Take another careful look at the forensic report. Besides the basic characteristics, there is another crucial piece of information about the deceased—an old, non-fatal injury to the iliac artery, about 10 days ago. This injury is very subtle and not a common external injury; most people wouldn't notice it. We may have overlooked this detail during our previous investigation. Next, we'll adjust our strategy and focus on reviewing information about missing persons that includes descriptions like 'recent abdominal or lower back injury,' 'recent related surgery,' or 'recent unexplained abdominal pain,' even if it's just something a family member mentioned. We need to verify these carefully."
He added, "Furthermore, let's expand the scope of our investigation, not just to the last six months, but also to include information on missing persons from the last year. I've already requested backup from Captain Li, and in half an hour, four new team members will be coming to assist us. Hang in there, everyone; victory might be just around the corner in the next message."
Xiao Zhou's words injected new motivation into the team members, and they regained their spirits and began to sort out information according to the new strategy. Half an hour later, four support team members arrived, and Xiao Zhou reassigned tasks, dividing the 12 team members into 6 groups, each responsible for sorting out information from 2 cities over the past year, focusing on detailed descriptions related to "old iliac artery injury".
On the morning of the fifth day, just as dawn was breaking, the office lights were still on. After a night of hard work, the team members had sorted through nearly 4000 new pieces of information and filtered out more than 20 suspected leads. At this time, Xiao Zhou's eyes were bloodshot and his voice was hoarse, but he still stayed at his post, reviewing the suspected leads that the team members had filtered out one by one.
"Look at this!" Around 7 a.m., Lao Chen, the team member responsible for sorting information in the city's northern district, suddenly shouted excitedly, his voice trembling uncontrollably. Xiao Zhou rushed over immediately. Lao Chen pointed to a message on the screen, his hands shaking: "This Zhang Baocang is a perfect match!"
Xiao Zhou's gaze was fixed on the information on the screen: Name: Zhang Baocang, Gender: Male, Age: 41, Height: 177 cm, Weight: 74 kg, Occupation: Manager of a property management company in the city, Date of Disappearance: 12 days before the incident, Location of Disappearance: Near Xingfu Road, Chengbei District of the city. Physical Characteristics: Medium build, no tattoos, superficial scratches on the left forearm (recently formed), abdominal injury sustained 10 days prior due to an accident, and treatment received at the First People's Hospital of the city. Reason for Disappearance: Lost contact on his way home from get off work; family members reported him missing after multiple unsuccessful attempts to contact him.
"Superficial scratch on the left upper forearm! Abdominal injury 10 days ago!" Xiao Zhou's heart skipped a beat. These details almost perfectly matched the description in the forensic report. He immediately asked Lao Chen to print out this information, and then checked it against the forensic autopsy report point by point: "Height 177 cm, which falls within the 175-178 cm range; weight 74 kg, which falls within the 70-75 kg range; medium build, no tattoos; superficial scratch on the left upper forearm, consistent with the location and shape of the victim's resistance injury before death; abdominal injury 10 days ago, which coincides with the time of the old injury to the iliac artery!"
"Could this be the person we're looking for?" Old Chen asked excitedly. Xiao Zhou, suppressing his excitement, said, "The possibility is very high, but we still need to verify further. Contact the First People's Hospital of the city immediately to retrieve Zhang Baocang's medical records from 10 days ago to confirm the specific details of his abdominal injury, whether it was an iliac artery injury. Also, contact Zhang Baocang's family and have them come to the branch office; we need to collect DNA samples for comparison."
"Okay, I'll get right on it!" Old Chen immediately picked up the phone and contacted the medical affairs department of the First People's Hospital of the city. After waiting for more than half an hour, the hospital sent back the verification results: "Zhang Baocang did indeed suffer an abdominal injury due to an accidental impact 10 days ago. After examination, he was diagnosed with a ruptured iliac artery intima, which is the early stage of old injury. He was discharged after conservative treatment at that time. The medical records and the forensic doctor's description of old injury to the iliac artery are completely consistent."
This result further strengthened Xiao Zhou's confidence. At this moment, Zhang Baocang's wife, Li Mei, and son, Zhang Xiaoming, also arrived at the Criminal Investigation Detachment. As soon as Li Mei saw Xiao Zhou, she anxiously asked, "Officer, have you found my husband? Where is he?" Xiao Zhou quickly reassured her, "Ms. Li, please don't worry, please sit down. We've called you here today to verify some information with you, and we also need to collect your and your son's DNA samples for comparison."