Police are searching for a 9-year-old girl from Hangzhou who was taken by a couple who later committed suicide.

A combo photo shows the 9-year-old Hangzhou girl Zhang Zixin (left) and Zhang Zixin and the tenant couple walking on the street. [Photo: China Plus/xiangshan.gov.cn]

Zhang Zixin lived with her grandparents, as her parents were separated and her father worked in another city. On June 20, a couple named Liang and Xie rented Zhang's family home in Hangzhou.

The couple told Zhang's grandparents that they would like her to be the flower girl at a wedding in Shanghai on July 3. Zhang's father opposed the idea when the grandparents mentioned it to him over the phone, but Liang and Xie took the girl in the early morning next day, promising to bring her back by July 7. It is unclear whether the grandparents gave their consent for the girl to leave with the couple.

Zhang's father was in contact with the couple via WeChat until they stopped replying on July 7. He reported his daughter as missing to the police on July 8, the same day police discovered the couple had committed suicide.

Zhang Zixin was last spotted with the couple by a security camera on the evening of July 7 in Xiangshan, Zhejiang Province. Police in Xiangshan have organized a search for the girl and are offering a 20,000 yuan (about 2,912 US dollars) reward for information about the girl's whereabouts.

This unusual case has captured nationwide attention, with commenters on social media questioning the relationship between the girl's parents and the circumstances under which she was taken.