Wednesday marks four weeks since the disappearance of Christchurch real estate agent Yanfei Bao.
And, while a man on Tuesday was charged with her murder, Bao has still not been found.
The 52-year-old man was also earlier charged with kidnapping Bao. The man is understood to have been living in New Zealand for a matter of months and was renting in the suburb of Bryndwr.
Det Insp Nicola Reeves joined AM on Wednesday and said Bao's family arrived from China on Saturday.
"They're very distressed, very upset about what's been happening. They've now landed in a completely foreign country and trying to come to terms with what's happened," Reeves said.
She said Bao's whanāu are "holding up remarkably well" and have expressed their "gratitude to the New Zealand public and to the police for the work that's been done".
On Tuesday, Reeves released images of a tracksuit, top and spade to the public - which police were asking for information about.
Reeves said the items are of "great interest to the investigation" and believes they have been discarded somewhere within the Christchurch area.
"I can't narrow it down. This investigation has taken us all over Christchurch.
"We think that those items have been discarded sometime between midday on July 19 and towards the evening of Saturday, July 22. So we're asking people to be on the lookout."
Reeves described the police investigation so far as "huge".
"We have done a lot of work. We've still got a lot of work to do and we're now appealing to the public to help us with this next phase."
Since Bao disappeared, searches have since been carried out at several locations - including multiple properties and waterways.
Bao's family earlier this month paid tribute to the missing woman, calling her a "beloved wife and mother".
"The family urges anyone with information that could assist the police in locating Yanfei to come forward as soon as possible," they said in a statement.
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