Police say missing college girl is dead

A 20-year-old woman from Chongqing, whose family had not heard from her for more than a week, is dead, the local police authority said on its official Sina Weibo micro blog on Tuesday evening.

The missing woman, Gao Yu, was a student at Chongqing University of Posts and Telecommunications and last talked to her family on Aug 9, when she accepted a ride from a stranger in Chongqing's Tongliang district.

The owner of the car, 41-year-old Pu Zhengfu, was arrested in the Dehong autonomous prefecture, Yunnan province at around 11 am on Aug 19.

According to the post, Pu confessed he killed Gao then fled after quarreling severely with her. The post does not say whether Gao's body has been found and local police were unavailable for comment on Wednesday.

Pu is under criminal detention, police said, and a further investigation is underway.

Gao last contacted her family at 6 pm on Aug 9, local police said on the micro blog.

According to a local newspaper, Gao's mother had arranged for a friend of hers to give Gao a ride that afternoon. However, Gao, who had never met her mother's friend, got into the car of a person she assumed was the friend.

Several media outlets reported on Aug 17 that Gao's mother, surnamed Liu, offered a reward on Wechat of 100,000 yuan ($16,281) for anyone who could provide information leading to finding Gao.