text: A father whose 20-year-old daughter was found murdered in Iowa last year made a desperate plea from China for U.S. authorities to do more in tracking down her killer, six months after the girl's body was discovered. And police in Iowa seem to have now answered it, by issuing a warrant for the girl's boyfriend, according to reports. Tong Shao, a chemical engineering student at Iowa State University, went missing in September 2014. After a three week search, police found her body stuffed in the trunk of her Toyota Camry in Iowa City. Shao's boyfriend, Xiangnan Li, 23, was listed as a person of interest in the case and is believed to have been the last person to see her alive, however he bought a one-way ticket to China in the days after his girlfriend went missing and has disappeared, CNN reported. Wanted for murder: An arrest warrant has reportedly been issued for , Xiangnan Li, 23 (right), the boyfriend of Tong Shaom 20 (left), a University of Iowa student found murdered in September after going missing . Li had transferred to Iowa from Rochester Institute of Technology to be closer to Tong. The two had meet studying English in Beijing in 2011. They had checked into a hotel room together on September 5, 2014. The pair had stayed at the same hotel three times before and the owner knew them. According to police records obtained by CNN, two days earlier Tong had accidentally called Li - or 'pocket dialed' him - and he stayed on the line for 30 minutes, overhearing a conversation. Tong was complaining about Li to a friend and said things that 'were not nice', the records noted. The owner of the hotel told investigators Li left the hotel either on the night of September 6 or the morning of September 7, which he said was unusual, because he usually had to tell the couple to leave after the checkout time of 11am. Li boarded a plane to China in Cedar Rapids, with a stopover in Chicago, on September 8. He landed September 10. Before Li left Iowa, a text from his phone was sent to one of Tong's roommates. 'This message was purportedly from (Tong) and read that Li had an emergency in China and was flying back there, that she was going to take a bus to Minnesota to visit friends, and she would return in about a week,' the police documents stated. On September 9, Karen Yang, a friend of Li's sent him a message asking how things were going with Tong. 'Fine for now,' he replied. Killed: Tong Shao, 20, was found dead in her Toyota Camry on September 26 at an apartment complex in southeast Iowa City. Police believe she had been in the car for three weeks . Disappeared: Police say Li boarded a plane to China in Cedar Rapids, with a stopover in Chicago, on September 8, less than two days after his girlfriend was last seen alive . Tong's roommate, Jean, filed a missing person report on September 18, when she couldn't contact her. Together her roommates reached out to Tong's friends in Minnesota via social media, however they had not heard from her. On September 26 were body was found in her car parked near a low income housing complex on the outskirts of Iowa City. Residents had reported a foul smell, and responding officers wore Hazmat suits while inspecting the car, KCCI 8 reported at the time. Tong was found in the trunk, where her body had been for about three weeks, and next to her was a 15-pound barbell. An autopsy showed Tong died of  asphyxiation and blunt force trauma. A towel from the hotel had been wrapped around her head, according to police records. Inside the car police found copies of Li's flight information. Scene: Investigators had to don Hazmat suits to inspect Tong's car. Her body is believed to have been in the trunk for three weeks before they found it . Investigation: Tong died of blunt force trauma and asphyxiation. Her body was wrapped in a towel, and next to it was a 15-pound barbell, police say . Stench: Investigators grimace at the smell emanating from Tong's car after finding it dumped in September . A search of their hotel room found 'splatters and drips of various dried liquids throughout the room and behind the headboards of the beds,' the records said, concluding that 'it is possible her death may have occurred in the hotel room'. Tong's father, Chunsheng Shao, told CNN he was informed by detectives last month that an arrest warrant had been issued for Li. Li is wanted for the first-degree murder of Tong Shao. Police would not confirm this, saying their investigations are ongoing. While it is the first break in the case since the discovery of Tong's body, Mr Shao says he wants more to be done in solving his daughter's murder. Mr Shao and his wife saved $100,000 to send their daughter to university, and believed Iowa would be a quiet, safe place for her. 'We've given all our love to our daughter'" Mr Shao said. 'I feel my life is meaningless after losing her.' Tragic: Tong, a junior chemical engineering student from China, was last seen in Ames more than three weeks before her body was discovered . While the U.S. has strong ties with China, there is no extradition treaty between the two. Legal experts say the most likely outcome is that China would prosecute people within China for crimes committed elsewhere. For Mr Shao, more needs to be done. 'We now plead with you, the U.S. authorities ...  share the evidence you have gathered with the Chinese authorities,' he said. 'This honorable act could very well save the life of other innocent and vulnerable victims, and will most assuredly allow the soul of our precious daughter to be comforted and rest in peace.'
target: Tong Shao, 20, was an international student from China attending Iowa State University .
  Her body was found in the trunk of her car in Iowa City on September 26 .
  Police believe it had been for three weeks .
  She died of blunt force trauma and asphyxiation .
  Her boyfriend, Xiangnan Li, 23, was the last to see her, but flew to China on September 8, before Shao was officially missing .
  According to Tong's father, an arrest warrant has now been issued .
  However Li has disappeared .