Found Deceased IA - Abdullahi "Abdi" Sharif, 18, Des Moines, 17 Jan 2020

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I am assuming Abdi’s father is deceased? It was his uncle who was speaking in fluent English at the press conference.
 
asmi106082 said:
Is he still restricted by a curfew if age 18?

Honestly just wondering, not trying to express an opinion.
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In our county in Florida, there is a curfew of midnight for those under 18. If you have a job and you don't get off until midnight, if you get pulled over, your employer can verify or a parent can verify. I don't think they specifically stop anyone checking for curfew.

However, since we're a popular tourist destination, teens and young adults love to hang out at the beach. Cops do patrol the beach for underage drinking. Add to that, too many wealthy think they own the dang beach. One guy erected a fence recently, not just a little inexpensive one either. He didn't want tourists or teens on "his beach."
 
SharonNeedles said:
The biggest obstacle to searching was that Abdi appeared to just walk away from a mall in an urban area and there was nothing else to go on at that point. The police knew early on (from the surveillance footage I assume) that Abdi left voluntarily and alone.

I also think it’s way out of line to scrutinize his grieving family or suggest they might have been involved. Talk of honor killings and other culturally insensitive nonsense is unwarranted.
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I think that those of us who offered a number of suggestions didnt do it out of disrespect but maybe from a more open minded angle. I think its naive to not look into those who were closest to him for clues, as any detective or personal investigator has to rule those people out in order to move forward. Regardless of how any of us feel about other peoples opinion, this is still an open forum for ideas and I wont judge you for how you think and feel as long as others do the same for me. As a side note, I did take it upon myself to check out other online news paper articles and media outlets to get some more info about the case beings that not much info is available here. After having done some digging, I found an article that said and have given credit to the mother for having gone into the store to go look for Abdi after he didnt come to the car once she got to Target to pick him up and after he didnt answer her calls. So I am open minded about being wrong about some things but I still have some questions about that day, that night and the next morning. This is a forum that allows a variety of opinions to be shared. Lets not make it more personal than it has to be just because we dont care for others opinions. I didnt flat out say the family did it. I simply brought forth a number of details that I found questionable.
 
On another note, did anyone read the news article that said Abdi called his sister on the day he disappeared, asking her for money after he had already been at the mall for a couple hours? I wonder what they spoke about and what his mood was at the time she gave him some money? That statement was made days after his disapperance while police questioned the family. But you dont hear about that info at all anymore. Very interesting!
 
I have not read or even heard of that article, and I am a local...if you happen to find it please post!

Also, if you google “Abdi Sharif uncle”, every article that comes up states that the man in the interviews speaking for the mother is indeed his uncle. I have never heard of a father or stepfather in this case...
 
katladi69 said:
On another note, did anyone read the news article that said Abdi called his sister on the day he disappeared, asking her for money after he had already been at the mall for a couple hours? I wonder what they spoke about and what his mood was at the time she gave him some money? That statement was made days after his disapperance while police questioned the family. But you dont hear about that info at all anymore. Very interesting!
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I hadn’t heard that...thanks for the info. Could you post a link to the article? Also, if it is a separate source indicating the man was Abdi’s stepfather, could you provide a link to that as well? Thanks!
 
I am goi
amland01 said:
I hadn’t heard that...thanks for the info. Could you post a link to the article? Also, if it is a separate source indicating the man was Abdi’s stepfather, could you provide a link to that as well? Thanks!
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I am going to answer one of my own question. The Des Moines Register indicates the man was his stepfather. However, multiple other cites (including WHO) indicate he is the uncle. So, I am not sure which is accurate.
 
The results of the Target video were published back in late Feb. It refers to his Mom rushing home to call police. It refers to where he went after he left Target. If LE believes he texted someone, and met them at the AT&T parking lot, then AT&Ts video may have picked up a vehicle.

The question now is, not the why, which we can debate till the cows come home, but who’s vehicle is this??? Who was driving? My guess would be that is where LEs focus is, now that Abdul has been found.

Updated 3:36 p.m. EST Feb. 20, 2020
'Every time I think about him I feel panic': Search party planned for missing Des Moines teen

Ahmed remembers she was mad at Sharif, thinking her son went somewhere without telling her. "What am I going to say to my son when he comes home?" She asked herself.

Around 10 p.m., Ahmed went into Target. There, she claims Target employees informed her that he had left when his shift ended at 5:30 p.m.

She had so many questions, but when she realized she couldn't get the answers she wanted, Ahmed rushed home and called the police.

"I had a bad feeling," she said.

Where was he walking?
Police obtained surveillance videos of Sharif leaving the store around 5:30. It looked like he texted someone and then put his phone away, as well as his headphones. Police were able to trace him via surveillance video walking across the parking lot toward the street, and then finally in the AT&T parking lot nearby. That's the last sight of him.
 
Re: the uncle question...I watched the live press conference after Abdi’s body was found, and at the beginning—when the family was being introduced as they sat at the table— it was stated that the gentleman translating for Mom was Abdi’s uncle.:)
 
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Hey everyone thanks for all the extra info added here the last couple of days. I wanted to start by addressing Abdi's stepfather. Yes, he has one and yes he attended the funeral. I'm not sure what he did for a living. Here are some photos of him at the funeral:
'So many questions': 'Abdi' Sharif's family left wondering how the 18-year-old died

Secondly, I posed a question about a newspaper article that said Abdi's sister told the police she was in contact with him that afternoon because she said he called her and asked for some money. Tonight, after work I tried to locate that article again and it is nowhere to be found! I got really frustrated about that but was able to locate something that did state that they were in contact around 2 in the afternoon of the day he went missing. Here is one article:
'We need to give the family some answers': Community hopes $5,000 reward will help bring missing 18-year-old home

Thirdly, I found two online interviews with one of the police officers involved in Abdi's case. Here is the links to both of them. I think you will find them interesting because they give you better insight into how the investigation was handled, the problems they ran into during the investigation and a recent update on the case. I will say this, his phone was found on him when they pulled him out of the river so that really threw me off. I still cant say for sure that this is a potential suicide but I can see where some people would think that. I still look forward to hearing the autopsy report.

Listen Free to Missing in the Metro on iHeartRadio Podcasts | iHeartRadio


Lastly, I just pray for the family and for Abdi himself. Regardless of what happened or how, he was way too young to die especially with all the potential he had. Peace!
 
katladi69 said:
Hey everyone thanks for all the extra info added here the last couple of days. I wanted to start by addressing Abdi's stepfather. Yes, he has one and yes he attended the funeral. I'm not sure what he did for a living. Here are some photos of him at the funeral:
'So many questions': 'Abdi' Sharif's family left wondering how the 18-year-old died

Secondly, I posed a question about a newspaper article that said Abdi's sister told the police she was in contact with him that afternoon because she said he called her and asked for some money. Tonight, after work I tried to locate that article again and it is nowhere to be found! I got really frustrated about that but was able to locate something that did state that they were in contact around 2 in the afternoon of the day he went missing. Here is one article:
'We need to give the family some answers': Community hopes $5,000 reward will help bring missing 18-year-old home

Thirdly, I found two online interviews with one of the police officers involved in Abdi's case. Here is the links to both of them. I think you will find them interesting because they give you better insight into how the investigation was handled, the problems they ran into during the investigation and a recent update on the case. I will say this, his phone was found on him when they pulled him out of the river so that really threw me off. I still cant say for sure that this is a potential suicide but I can see where some people would think that. I still look forward to hearing the autopsy report.

Listen Free to Missing in the Metro on iHeartRadio Podcasts | iHeartRadio


Lastly, I just pray for the family and for Abdi himself. Regardless of what happened or how, he was way too young to die especially with all the potential he had. Peace!
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Interesting to note in that interview that Abdi’s last ping was in the area of the Euclid Ave bridge. That’s the first time I’ve heard that, I was under the impression that the ping was more in the area of Prospect Park. Seems more likely to me now that Abdi didn’t need a ride to get there. I hope his phone records can fill in the missing pieces, doesn’t sound like a foul play scenario to me at all.
 

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SharonNeedles said:
Interesting to note in that interview that Abdi’s last ping was in the area of the Euclid Ave bridge. That’s the first time I’ve heard that, I was under the impression that the ping was more in the area of Prospect Park. Seems more likely to me now that Abdi didn’t need a ride to get there. I hope his phone records can fill in the missing pieces, doesn’t sound like a foul play scenario to me at all.
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Yeah, wouldn't it be sad if he did intentionally do something to himself...But then the question would still be why...My only problem with that is that he texted his mother to come pick him up...which is driving me crazy. If someone wanted to do something to him/her self, they wouldnt ask someone to come get them later, unless...he wasn't trying to hurt himself, but simply walking back to Target and slipped and fell accidentally. And isnt it crazy how when the investigation first started, there were so many different outlets giving different versions of info? Like some stated the mother drove him to the mall in the evening, and others stated her as dropping him off between noon and 1:30. And then it wasn't until more info came out that we actually got to find out that she did go inside the store looking for him when he didn't come to the car. Now, so many news outlets are pretty much cutting and pasting the same version of the story and you cant find too many articles of when the incident first happened. It's like some of them are getting rid of the older articles and replacing them with the same updated article about finding his body in the river. I read somewhere that most cell phone records keep track of every call, text and picture you send to someone so if anything questionable was in his or his family's phones, they would have found something already. But again, the police officer said they weren't divulging all their info because there are some things they are keeping to themselves in terms of the investigation. I just wonder if we'll ever get a real answer as to what actually happened. That autopsy report will be very helpful. And don't you think it's really strange how hardly any of those business's had footage of him as he walked through the shopping are where the At&t store was located? it's really troubling!
 
katladi69 said:
Isnt it crazy how when the investigation first started, there were so many different outlets giving different versions of info? Like some stated the mother drove him to the mall in the evening, and others stated her as dropping him off between noon and 1:30. And then it wasn't until more info came out that we actually got to find out that she did go inside the store looking for him when he didn't come to the car. Now, so many news outlets are pretty much cutting and pasting the same version of the story and you cant find too many articles of when the incident first happened. It's like some of the news outlets are getting rid of the older articles and replacing them with the same updated article about finding his body in the river. I read somewhere that most cell phone records keep track of every call, text and picture you send to someone so if anything questionable was in his or his family's phones, they would have found something already. But again, the police officer said they weren't divulging all their info because there are some things they are keeping to themselves in terms of the investigation. I just wonder if we'll ever get a real answer as to what actually happened. That autopsy report will be very helpful. And don't you think it's really strange how hardly any of those business's had footage of him as he walked through the shopping are where the At&t store was located? it's really troubling!
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That’s why I LOVE IT when WSers quote their 10% allowances for detailed news bits. Over time they often do change & sometimes even disappear- nice to be able to backtrack here to recover info. Especially when a case takes a few years to solve. I think we will see an arrest & justice here. But might not be as fast as we or the fam would like. Now that this is a death & not a MP case, LE might be more open to following up on the PI’s leads. Unless ME rules accidental or suicide. Have to wait for COD/MOD.
 
MissUnderstood said:
Very sad news. Could he have been swept into the river accidentally if the weather was so bad? Was it windy? Could he have slipped in and couldn’t get out?
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I personally think this is most likely what actually happened, although why he was at the riverbank in such miserable weather is the biggest mystery.
 
MissUnderstood said:
Very sad news. Could he have been swept into the river accidentally if the weather was so bad? Was it windy? Could he have slipped in and couldn’t get out?
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I personally think this is most likely what actually happened, although why he was at the riverbank in such miserable weather is the biggest mystery.
 
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