An Illinois man was charged Friday with abducting a Chinese student who investigators believe is now dead, a court document showed.

Brendt Christensen, 28, was arrested by FBI agents in Champaign on Friday. He will remain in custody until he appears in federal court Monday to face a charge of kidnapping in the disappearance of Yingying Zhang, 26, on June 9, the University of Illinois Police Department said in a statement.

The arrest came a day after hundreds marched in support of Zhang, a scholar in photosynthesis and crop productivity who came to study at University of Illinois two months ago, according to local media.