By Philip Sean Curran, Staff Writer
Xufeng Huang loved to take pictures, an interest that might explain why she left her daughter’s home Thursday night on Worths Mill Lane with camera in tow and went for a walk from which she never returned.
Her family finds itself searching for answers into what Princeton Police believed to be the hit-and-run death of Ms. Huang, 69, whose body was discovered on Mercer Road Saturday morning. Relatives on Monday want the driver in the case to come forward.
“Exactly what happened, we don’t know yet, ” said her nephew, Sam Ye, of Hillsborough, in an interview. “We understand that accidents happens. But knowing who’s responsible really brings a final closure.”
He said the family is considering putting up a reward.
Ms. Huang, a native of China from the southeast part of the country, was visiting her daughter, Yi Ling, of Princeton, for an extended vacation. She arrived in the United States on Tuesday night, her first trip to the country and one that she was looking forward to.
Visiting the United Sates was Ms. Huang’s dream, the nephew said. She intended to see Yellowstone National Park during her stay.
On Thursday, Ms. Ling was going to run an errand and asked her mother to stay home or walk just in the neighborhood, Mr. Ye said. She left the house around 6:15 p.m.; by 7:45, she returned but the mother was gone. Mr. Ye said the family suspects that his aunt went to take pictures, as a camera was found with her body.
“She loved taking photographs,” he said. On a table at the daughter’s home, there are books of pictures that Ms. Huang had taken — mostly of the outdoors and nature scenes. The family has created a small memorial for her inside the home.
After she went missing, a search for Ms. Huang was to no avail.
“Our hope was that she might have got lost and she would return sooner or later,” her nephew said.
But on Saturday around 10 a.m., her body was discovered along Mercer Road, about a half-mile away from her daughter’s home. In having to explain to her children what happened to their grandmother, Ms. Ling said she told them it involved a traffic accident, without going into details.
Mr. Ye said his aunt was a two-time cancer survivor, who battled lymphoma and then breast cancer. She had worked as an accountant, and leaves behind two children, grandchildren and other relatives.
“She’s a lovely, optimistic and a very strong, independent woman,” the nephew said. “Her life really has not been easy.”
Mr. Ye thanked the community, as volunteers came forward to help.
“A lot of people — some we know, some we don’t — they offered help to volunteer to search for my aunt. We’re really grateful for the support from the community and from the police department.”
