Missing Interpol president’s last text was ominous picture of knife, wife says

Grace Meng, left, the wife of missing Interpol President Meng Hongwei, who does not want her face shown, says he last sent her a picture of a knife before falling out of contact in late September. (AP)

The wife of Interpol’s missing president said the last text she got from her husband during his trip to China was a picture of a knife, leading her to believe it was his way of telling her that he was in danger.

Grace Meng, who spoke to reporters for the first time Sunday following Meng Hongwei's disappearance, said four minutes before receiving that message on Sept. 25, he texted her “Wait for my call.”

That call never came, Meng said, and she has not heard from him since. Meng added that her husband in was in China for a work-related matter, and the image of the knife was an indication from him that something was amiss.

She read a statement during her press conference in Lyon, France, according to the Associated Press, but would not allow reporters to show her face, saying she feared for her own safety and the safety of her two children.

Interpol, the Lyon-based international police agency, said in a brief statement Saturday that it has asked China about the status of its 64-year-old leader.

The agency "looks forward to an official response from China's authorities to address concerns over the president's well-being," the statement said.

China, which is in the middle of a weeklong holiday, did not immediately respond to the request.

Meng Hongwei was last seen in Lyon and reports of his disappearance first surfaced on Friday.

"He did not disappear in France," a source close to the investigation told Sky News.

Before taking over as Interpol's chief in 2016, he served as Vice Minister of Public Security in China and is the first Chinese official to head Interpol.

“Mr. Meng has almost 40 years’ experience in criminal justice and policing, having overseen affairs related to legal institutions, narcotics control, counter-terrorism, border control, immigration, and international cooperation,” his bio says on Interpol’s website.

The Associated Press reported that Meng Hongwei is a member of China's Communist Party and his various past jobs likely put him in close contact with Zhou Yongkang, a former Chinese security chief and fellow Communist Party member now serving a life sentence for corruption.

The news agency said Meng Hongwei has no public allegations against him, but officials who are under investigation by the Communist Party typically are held for months without disclosure to the public and usually are not given legal counsel.

Fox News' Kathleen Joyce and the Associated Press contributed to this report.