LYON, France: The wife of the missing president of Interpol says her husband sent her an image of a knife before he disappeared during a trip to their native China.
Late Sunday, China confirmed Meng had been officially detained for investigation by the country's anti-corruption body for unspecified breaches of the law.
That indicates Meng has been caught up in the broad anti-corruption campaign ordered by President Xi Jinping, and which has already led to the disappearance of many senior figures.
Making her first public comments on the mystery surrounding Meng Hongwei's whereabouts, Grace Meng told reporters in Lyon, France on Sunday she thinks the knife was her husband's way of trying to tell her he was in danger.
She says she has had no further contact with him since the message that was sent on Sept. 25. She says four minutes before Meng shared the image, he had sent a message saying, "Wait for my call."
She says she hasn't heard from him since and does not know what happened to him.
Meng's wife said he had travelled back to China for work, after a visit to the Nordics.
"His job is very busy," she said. "We connected every day."
Meng is a senior Chinese security official as well as president of the International Criminal Police Organisation. The Lyon-based international police agency said Saturday it has used law enforcement channels to inquire with China about Meng's status.
The secretary-general of the international group has issued a statement, and posted it on Twitter, than "Interpol has requested through official law enforcement channels clarification from China's authorities on the status of Interpol President Meng Hongwei."
The World Is One News (WION) network presented this background report on the disappearance.
Grace Meng wouldn't speculate Sunday on what might have happened to him. Asked if she believed that he has been arrested, she said: "In China, what happened, I'm not sure."
She read a statement during her press conference in Lyon, but would not allow reporters to show her face, saying she feared for her own safety and the safety of her two children.
Interpol said Saturday it has made a formal request to China for information about the agency's missing president.
The Lyon-based international police agency said it used law enforcement channels to submit its request to China about the status of Meng Hongwei. Its statement said the agency "looks forward to an official response from China's authorities to address concerns over the president's well-being."
China, in the midst of the Golden Week holiday, has yet to comment on the 64-year-old security official's disappearance. Calls and faxed questions to the foreign and public security ministries went unanswered.
- Earlier report: Interpol presses China on disappearance